INT. MATT’S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

Matt is on the couch blogging. Paroxi-Wife is watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Twilight mashups. In the background, we see ESPN ticker at the bottom: “Clippers trade Zach Randolph to Memphis Grizzlies for Quinton Richardson and Greg Buckner.”Matt’s phone rings.

/ring

//ring ring

Matt: Hello?

Corn: I”ve decided that in a previous life, you were some sort of Egyptian Pharoah, like Ramses.  And Chris Wallace and Michael Heisley were slaves that you routinely punished for no apparent reason. And now, karma has come back to haunt you in the form of the stupidest decisions possible to the team you actually kind of have an attachment to.  That’s all.

/beep

//dialtone

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So it happened.  After being first suggested many moons ago, they actually went through with it. Drafting Thabeet wasn’t enough. No, they had to go and discover and even dumber way to make their team somehow worse.

You know, Corn tried to convince me that this was somehow a smart move, that they needed a lowpost scorer, and that essentially they just upgraded Darko for Z-Bo.

Except, if you consider the wide range of off-the-court, locker room, contractual, and conditioning issues, is that really an upgrade? Yes, Darko’s not good for much, but at least when he’s on the floor, you know he’s going to hustle his demented little head off. With Randolph, it could be a 20 and 10 night, or a 4 and 2 night. Whatever he feels like, really. And is a small market rebuilding team really the place that he’s going to suddenly feel motivated consistently?

Two years, $33 million. That’s what they’re paying. Think about this. They could have gotten four years of Charlie V. for that. Even if you think V-Nuv wasn’t going to come to Memphis, regardless, there are still several power forward free agents out there. Good ones! Do you realize how rare that is? And Memphis cashed it in for… Randolph? This is part of the rebuilding plan? Putting a locker room malcontent with off-court issues on Beale Street so he can infect the locker room of young guys, plus you’ve effectively alienated Marc Gasol with your last two moves?

I’ve stuck up for Memphis for a long time, and said that they got Mayo which was a stroke of genius, and that they haven’t given away Gay for peanuts (yet). They invested in Conley which I think was a smart move before they landed the #2 in a great point guard draft (and subsequently drafted a ladder).  I’ve tried to stick up for them. But it’s timee to call it.

Chris Wallace is the worst GM in the league. Michael Heisley is the worst owner in the league, and the Memphis Grizzlies are the worst franchise in the league. It’s not fair that such a beleaguered franchise with such a good sports town gets stuck with this filth, but it’s how it is. If this is their three year plan, they should probably rename it the “Three Year Escape Plan” and start getting used to calling themselves the Las Vegas Grizzlies.

So much potential, so pathetically wasted.

What, you’re telling me you couldn’t get a Darius Miles throw-in for old time’s sake?

The Milwaukee Bucks are a truly confounding franchise.  The core of players that has been assembled (now, and every year during my lifetime, for that matter) seems mismatched at best and train wreck at worst.  Their choices in the draft, while unmistakably talented, leave us scratching our heads.  And the head coach, in typical Scott Skiles fashion, refuses to throw a bone to the talent on his roster in the name of this team carving out a future for itself.

I’ve seen glimpses of the promised land, and let me tell you: the bridge to it is not built on the back of Luke Ridnour.

The Bucks have actually made their share of headlines this off-season, which is a rarity for a franchise that’s been mired in mediocrity.  I don’t blame the Bucks for the Jefferson trade, though it doesn’t bear many benefits on the basketball side of things.  Trading for Amir Johnson could prove to be an interesting move, as Johnson could be a lifetimer in ‘Waukee as a role player.  Selecting Brandon Jennings with the 10th pick is really a post unto itself, and mind-bendingly awesome/awful.

Then, after a mini-flurry of activity, the Bucks were left with a choice.  Or at least something that resembled a choice.  Both Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions are restricted free agents looking for long-term financial commitment from the team.  Sessions would seem to be the odd-man out with Jennings now in the point guard rotation, and Villanueva still a bit of a question mark despite his scoring abilities.

So why is it that the Bucks volunteered themselves for a point guard logjam while letting Charlie V walk?  It’s simple: the Bucks never had a choice.  When Milwaukee sent Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for what amounts to a cap relief package, they sent a pretty clear message: everything is not alright.  Striving for .500 on a gaudy payroll is not the objective of this franchise.  They’re mad as hell, and they’re not gonna take it anymore.  But turning over a new leaf not only means acquiring some new talent (may I introduce Mr. Jennings), but also removing all other considerable road blocks to the team’s success.  The first road block was Jefferson, his contract, and his attitude.  The second road block was very clearly Charlie Villanueva, whose potential for a long-term, high-salary deal would essentially nuke any financial flexibility the Bucks would hope to have in the future.  The third, and perhaps most significant road block to the NeoBucks is Michael Redd.  But that’s a story for another day.

In theory, you shouldn’t let go of assets without compensation.  C-Nuv is a fairly valuable player, as evidenced by the insane amount of money the Pistons will pay him shortly.  But did the Bucks really have any call to re-sign him?  Was there really any possibility that a non-star scorer should be at the core of this team, tying the purse strings and giving Scott Skiles an aneurysm?  Villanueva is a better talent than Sessions, and one that fills what is likely a greater need in regards to both position and skill.  Yet, when it came down to deciding between the two, the Bucks’ hands were tied.  Sessions isn’t likely to receive anything more than the midlevel, while the subtle sexiness of Villanueva’s game could net him some serious dough.  I’m definitely of the opinion that he doesn’t deserve that kind of cash to begin with, but that’s not really the issue here.  The market for Villanueva’s services is about to be set, and we’ll soon see that the Bucks never really stood a chance.  Even if they reserved the right to match offers for Charlie, the decision was never really theirs.  The Bucks’ hands were tied when they signed Bobby Simmons to an absurd contract, when they gave Michael Redd more money than he was worth, and when they made Dan Gazuric the richest man ever named Dan Gadzuric.  Some of that is mismanagement and some of it is the horrors of small market basketball, but all of it has ensured that Villanueva isn’t sticking around with the Bucks.

Charlie’s going to get his, but that doesn’t mean the Bucks can’t come out on top in this scenario.  Making sense of the point guard rotation is a ridiculous enterprise, but Milwaukee is one step closer to a fresh start.  It’s a bit of a shame that an atypical, perplexing, jump-shooting power forward couldn’t be part of something so fittingly new, but I somehow doubt the Bucks will lament the loss of Villanueva’s new deal.

One suggested theory of evaluating head coaches is to look at how their teams outperform their expected (Pythagorean) wins. The thinking goes that great coaches consistently excel in late-game situations and often win more than random chance would allow. You could also make the argument that great coaches optimize the way in which they use their players, another reason they outperform their expected win totals.

What does the data say? I rounded up each team’s actual and expected wins over the last seven years and calculated the averages for each coach. You can find the data here.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rI4SSKbrDqddJZcy0IBJ50w

As you can see, those theories may be wrong. The results appear to be random, at least when you factor in common beliefs about who’s a good coach and who’s not.

Stay tuned, as there is much more research on coaches to come.

Matt and Corndogg give their thoughts on the draft, Matt checks in to see how angry Wolves fans are with Derek Hanson of TWolvesBlog.com, and Phoenix Stan of Bright Side of the Sun drops by to give his thoughts on the genius (or lack thereof) of Steve Kerr.

Oh, and check us on iTunes, baby. Big time!