The Milwaukee Bucks Are Lucky To Have John Hammond

In the midst of persistent rumors surrounding his future with the team, the Milwaukee Bucks need to realize how lucky they are to call John Hammond their general manager.

The Milwaukee Bucks are all-in on winning a championship. That should in theory be the goal of every franchise, but not all owners are so vocal about it.

In the letter from Bucks owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan to mark the two year anniversary of their purchase of the team, that was a sentiment that was re-iterated once again:

"Our desire to succeed and bring an NBA Championship back to this passionate and deserving fan base continues to drive every decision we make."

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It wasn’t the quote that garnered the most attention from the letter, but it was the most important. That needs to be the yardstick the ownership is measured against. Every move they make needs to fall in line with that ambition.

That brings us on to the comment that created the most buzz:

"John Hammond and Jason Kidd have done a terrific job accumulating and developing our young talent."

Considering that rumors have swirled surrounding the futures of both men in recent months, there was no shortage of Bucks fans eager to read into that quote.

In reality, if the organization are serious about their desire to become a real contender, there shouldn’t even be a question mark hanging over John Hammond’s future.

Executives with Hammond’s pedigree are increasingly difficult to find in the NBA.

The growth of the analytics movement has seen an increase in data driven voices influencing NBA front offices, the success of some of the game’s smartest minds in dual coaching/personnel roles has seen those scenarios rise also, but it’s still not easy to find a substitute for the value added by an overall breadth of knowledge.

John Hammond has been an influencer at all levels of the game and various different roles of the game. Let’s take a brief walk through his history, as it’s important in assessing his credentials.

A solid high school basketball player, Hammond saw his chances of advancing to play at the highest level in college, or beyond, disappear under tragic circumstances.

In 1972, Hammond fractured his leg in a motorcycle accident after dropping his friend, and now Bucks head of scouting, Billy McKinney home. It would be one of a number events that would pave Hammond’s path to his eventual NBA future.

Taking in stops at Nebraska and Southwest Missouri State as an assistant coach, before a later return to work with Quin Snyder at Missouri, Hammond honed his craft in the college game.

When the opportunity finally presented itself for him to move to the NBA, Hammond seized it. Spells as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers got his feet wet, but it was with the Detroit Pistons where Hammond really made an impression.

A couple of seasons on the Pistons bench was enough to eventually earn the Illinois native a shot in the team’s front office. Word spread of Hammond’s influence in Detroit, as the Pistons won a championship in 2004 with Hammond acting as vice president of basketball operations. That led him to Milwaukee, where he’d finally get the chance to be the primary decision maker.

Hammond was then, and remains now, a man who understood the game in all its forms.

There is arguably no position more important within an NBA team than that of the general manager. If the GM doesn’t make the right decisions, the coach doesn’t have the tools to win.

With that in mind, is there a better fit than having someone who has both vast experience of the Xs and Os and the cap and business side of the game?

Hammond’s record with the Bucks would suggest that there truly isn’t.

Of course, he’s made his mistakes as everybody does, but in comparing Hammond to his counterparts around the league it gets tough to find cause for complaint.

His work in the draft, in particular, is almost impeccable. Joe Alexander might have been a disaster, but Hammond had only been in the job two months at the time he made that pick.

Picking up Larry Sanders, Brandon Jennings, Tobias Harris (via draft night trade), John Henson, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker in the time since is a haul that you’ll struggle to see equalled considering the picks he had at his disposal.

Even in the trade market, Hammond has always shown his savvy in staying flexible over the years. John Salmons and Corey Maggette were amongst those moved on with minimal fuss on relatively hefty deals.

If you look at a list of the league’s longest tenured general managers, Hammond’s name sits naturally amongst them. Having completed his eighth season with the Bucks, he sits in the company of executives such as Danny Ainge, Donnie Nelson, Pat Riley, R.C. Buford, Daryl Morey and Mitch Kupchak, and deservedly so.

An NBA championship winning executive who has also been an Executive of the Year winner in his time with the Bucks, what would the Bucks really be looking to achieve by moving on from Hammond?

Hammond’s former Southwest Missouri State colleague once described the 62-year-old by saying:

"John is one of those people who sort of without ever being pushy or taking advantage of people just always made his own way."

During a Q&A while he was still Vice President of Basketball Operations in Detroit, Hammond was asked why he remained happy to be an assistant in spite of interest for the top job from the likes of Toronto and Portland. The Bucks could certainly do with applying his own reply to their current thought process:

"There is an old saying that can apply to a lot of things, and it can definitely apply to job opportunities. And that saying is “Some people don’t know how good they got it, til they ain’t got it no more.”"

Next: Milwaukee Bucks Season In Stats: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The Milwaukee Bucks are lucky to have one of the league’s best general managers. This is no time for rash or political decisions.

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