Really?

       Any Milwaukee sports fan grows up hearing the words “small market” over and over. Milwaukee is too small of a market to generate profit like the Chicago's, L.A.'s, and New York's of the sports world, and players don't want to come and play here. So the only way for the Bucks and the Brewers to be competitive is to draft well.

      The Brewers have been successful in the draft, as of late. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks were All-Stars that were drafted and developed in the Brewers system. Great drafting and developed prospects also allowed the Brewers to move many of their successful young players for big name players now. This has allowed them to be competitive for the past three seasons and with hope for the near future. The Brewers set a club record for single season wins with 96 last season.

      The Bucks, however, have not had similar success in the draft. Dismal selections have left the Bucks to rely on trades to keep the team afloat. But as previously stated, many of these players don't want to play for the small market Milwaukee Bucks. Most recently, rumors that recently acquired Monta Ellis has expressed feelings to move on from the Bucks as soon as his contract expires in 2013.

      Let's take a look at the Bucks first round draft history since 2000.

2000 – Pick 15: Jason Collier (5.6 ppg) traded for Joel Pryzbilla (4.0 ppg), 4 years with Bucks

2001 – No RD 1 pick.

2002 – Pick 13: Marcus Haislip (3.5 ppg), 2 years with Bucks

2003 – Pick 8: T.J. Ford (11.2), 2 years with Bucks

2004 – No draft picks

2005 – Pick 1: Andrew Bogut (12.7 ppg), 7 seasons with Bucks

2006 – No RD 1 pick

2007 – Pick 6: Yi Jianlian (7.9 ppg), 1 season with Bucks

2008 – Pick 8: Joe Alexander (4.2 ppg), 1 season with Bucks

2009 – Pick 10: Brandon Jennings (16.7 ppg), still with team

2010 – Pick 15: Larry Sanders (3.9 ppg), still with team

2011 – Pick 19: Tobias Harris (4.4 ppg), still with team

*Career ppg, stats from espn.com

I would consider Bogut and Jennings to be good picks, aside from that the rest are junk. The majority of these players spent two or fewer years with the team. Sad. The only way the Bucks will ever be competitive in the NBA is if they start drafting better. In the last 10 years they've had five top 10 picks, and none of them have been an All-Star. Albeit, Brandon Jennings has the opportunity to get there in the near future. But even the young, drafted stars on the current roster don't want to stay. Both Illyasova and Jennings have expressed a willingness to leave Milwaukee for better money.

      Where do the Bucks go from here? I don't want to suggest “blowing-up” this team, because they're only one legitimate big man away from making the playoffs in a top heavy Eastern Conference. However, they do need to make some big changes. Skiles has taken the team about as far as he can. Their new, fast paced style isn't his forte, plus I can't understand how he gives minutes. D'Antoni coached this style successfully with the Suns for years, and is available. Sanders shouldn't play, other than for a defensive substitution at the end of quarters. Gooden is expendable. If they can find one big man that can keep up with a running team and plays good defense (a Tyson Chandler type), they're a top five team in the East. The answer may be in the forward/center filled draft, as long as they don't end up with Zeller, another soft, white dude. If you could bulk up Perry Jones or John Henson, they'd be a perfect fit. Around the league, there aren't too many options here that the Bucks can snag. Al Jefferson is another good fit, but he's a year away from entering free agency. Unless you can make a trade for Jefferson without destroying the young core, the answer lies in the draft.

      The Bucks will have an interesting off season deciding whether or not to trade Ellis, and how to approach the draft. Hopefully, it'll be fun to follow. Something in me knows we're still drafting Zeller...

-Zack

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