Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things NBA GMs got right in their 2021-22 survey

One of my favorite parts of the preseason, for better or worse, is the annual general manager survey put out by NBA.com every year. It fascinates me to see what the collective mindset is from the GMs is, especially so when it comes to the Milwaukee Bucks!

It’s safe to say that the defending champs, as you would expect, were very popular in the 2021-22 rendition of the survey. They appeared in some form or fashion across almost every section of the survey except the “offseason moves” section, which would make sense given their rather lowkey offseason in adding rotation pieces, instead of a new point guard like last year.

Speaking of last year, the Bucks weren’t even in the “others receiving votes” section for the GMs champions prediction! However, they did show respect to the Bucks’ aforementioned big move last year, with 33 percent of the vote going to Jrue Holiday for which player acquisition would make the biggest impact, good for second-highest behind Chris Paul. I’d say that’s a solid win for the GMs!

Regardless of how much stock you want to put into these surveys, the Bucks showed up a lot and it’s good to see that they’re getting some respect around the league. It always feels like there’s a lot of recency bias for the GM surveys, but let’s take a look at some of the Bucks-related things that the GMs got right.

3 things the GMs got right about the Milwaukee Bucks in their 2021-22 survey: Darvin Ham continues to be respected

I’m still a little surprised that Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham hasn’t been hired by a team to be their head coach yet, but at least the ones who make those decisions realize how good of a coach he is?

For the third straight season, Ham was recognized as one of the best assistant coaches in the NBA. In 2019-20, Ham received seven percent of the vote, good for a tie for fourth. Last year that doubled to 14 percent, tied for second with now-Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch. This season, Ham received 17 percent of the vote, a tie for first place with current Golden State Warriors assistant and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

It’s good for the Bucks that they’ve been able to keep Ham as long as they have, but for his sake, someone should hire this man already. If general managers hold him in similar regard to guys who became head coaches or are former head coaches, then surely he deserves a chance by now.

Nevertheless, Ham returns for another season with the Bucks after once again being interviewed for several vacant head coaching positions, but not receiving an offer. I’m not going to predict which coaches get canned this season, but hopefully one of those teams takes a chance on coach Ham.

Bucks assistant Charles Lee also received votes this year after receiving seven percent of the vote last year. Lee was also a candidate for some vacant head coaching jobs this past offseason, but of course, is back with the Bucks for another season.