Behind the Buck Pass » Danny Granger

Portland to Consider Hammond for GM Post; Larry Sanders Suspended

K L Chouinard — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:11:26 +0000

Mar 14, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond answers questions during a press conference prior to the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Jason Quick of The Oregonian is reporting that John Hammond is a candidate for the open general manager position with the Portland Trailblazers. They have not, however, asked the Bucks for permission to speak with Hammond.

(Blazers President Larry) Miller said Friday that the 57-year-old Hammond will be a candidate, but he added that he has yet to ask the Bucks for permission to interview Hammond.

The Blazers have had a vacancy at general manager since Cho was fired on May 23 last year. Chad Buchanan, the team’s director of college scouting, has been acting general manager since Cho’s firing.

Hammond was a finalist for the position in 2003 when Portland hired John Nash. Interestingly, the Blazers also have an opening at the head coaching position, as Nate McMillian was let go in March and replaced with Kaleb Canales on an interim basis. (Hello, Scott Skiles.)

TNT Broadcaster and former Phoenix Suns General Manager Steve Kerr is also a potential candidate for the GM spot.

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In other news, the NBA released the following statement after suspending Larry Sanders two games for his role in starting Thursday night’s fracas in Indiana:

Milwaukee Bucks forward Larry Sanders has been suspended two games without pay for initiating an altercation, failing to leave the court in a timely manner and actions following his ejection — all during the Bucks’ 118-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Given that Sanders is slated to make $1.86 million salary for the 2011-12 season, his fine should shake out to about $46,000. David West and Danny Granger of the Pacers were each fined $25,000 without suspension.

Game 54 Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks

K L Chouinard — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:13:30 +0000

(Photo: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE)

Offensive Efficiency:

Cleveland: 101.2 (25th)
Milwaukee: 105.7 (11th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Cleveland: 108.2 (26th)
Milwaukee: 105.4 (18th)

Pace:
Cleveland: 91.6 (14th)
Milwaukee: 93.2 (5th)

Projected Lineups:

Cleveland: Anthony Parker, Donald Sloan, Alonzo Gee, Antawn Jamison, Tristan Thompson

Milwaukee: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Luc Mbah a Moute, Ersan Ilyasova, Drew Gooden

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For starters, Kyrie Irving is not with the Cavs in Milwaukee. John Telich of Fox8 Cleveland reported today that Irving will be out about 10 days with a bone bruise.

Whether or not Irving’s absence continues a pattern of Cleveland Tank-O-Rama remains to be seen. The Cavaliers established a new record for NBA home futility, losing two consecutive games at home by 35 or more points. That type of is a special sort of unabashed hunger for failure.

Carlos Delfino (groin) and Beno Udrih (left hand) are listed as day-to-day for the game. For Monday’s game in Washington, both players traveled with the team and dressed for the pregame warmups — and Carlos took some shooting practice. While this game is a must-win for the Bucks, so are the other four games in this homestand. Don’t expect to see either rushed back tonight.

The Knicks collapse versus the Pacers last night brought the Bucks within 1.5 games of New York for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. New York blew a 17-point second-half lead, and the Pacers outscored the Knicks by an astounding 40-17 margin in the fourth quarter. In addition to scoring 14 points in the final period, Danny Granger took a moment to mock Steve Novak’s homage to the discount double-check.

One last thought: Here’s a link to an article by Neil Paine on tanking and building a title team. While getting stuck in mediocrity hasn’t led to any titles (see the 2002-2004 Bucks), overt tanking rarely breeds success, either.