Hooped Up

Derrick Rose is going home, and a record crowd of freshmen are following him to the NBA. The Chicago Bulls selected Rose, who grew up on the city’s South Side, with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, choosing the Memphis guard over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.  Below are the rest of the NBA draft results.

Round 1 NBA Draft Results

Second round results after the jump Read the rest of this entry »

The New Jersey Nets decided to part ways with the second-leading scorer in franchise history, dealing Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee hours before last night’s draft for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

“We certainly gave up a good player, but to get a good player you have to give up a good player. With Yi, we feel his upside is very up,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “We feel strongly he’s going to be a real good player for us.”

No draft picks were swapped in the trade.

Boston Herald

Kelvin Sampson has many lives indeed!

Kelvin Sampson wants to restore his reputation and continue his career, and hopes he took a step in that direction by accepting a job as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

But Sampson will pass on the chance to explain his version of a messy divorce with Indiana University until after an NCAA hearing in mid-June.

“More will come out, and I’ll be more than happy to talk after that,” Sampson said.

SI

If the Bucks trade Redd, that would be pretty stupid.  Buy hey, that’s why the Bucks haven’t won anything in forever!

In the last week, several officials from both the Eastern and Western Conferences acknowledged the Bucks have been gauging the interest other teams may have in some of their players. The most notable one is All-Star shooting guard Michael Redd. Redd is unquestionably the Bucks’ best player, the one who would bring back the most in a trade. However, while Redd is one of the most prolific scorers in the league, some teams are reluctant to take on his sizable contract. Redd will make $15.78 million and $17.04M over the next two years, respectively.

What’s more, Redd has a player option for $18.30M for the 2010-2011 season. Besides Redd, Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva is drawing more than a passing interest from other teams. Several teams are intrigued with Villanueva’s potential, especially considering he is only 23.

Racine Journal Times

The Milwaukee Bucks did what the Portland Trail Blazers and the Toronto Raptors couldn’t — they hired away John Hammond, Pistons’ president Joe Dumars’ right-hand man. Late Friday, the Bucks announced they’d completed the deal and would announce Hammond as the team’s new general manager at a 4 p.m. news conference today. It was only a matter of time before another NBA team swiped the Pistons’ vice president of basketball operations. Hammond is serving his seventh season in his current position with the team and works closely with Dumars evaluating trades, personnel moves, the draft and team talent and needs.

Detroit Free Press

Sen. Herb Kohl said Wednesday that Larry Harris’ contract will not be offered a new contract as general manager and is no longer with the club.

Harris had asked Kohl for an early decision so he can pursue other interests if he wasn’t going to be retained.

“Larry Harris has served the Milwaukee Bucks since 1990 with complete dedication and loyalty,” Kohl said. “I believe at this time it is in the best interest of the Bucks to proceed in another direction.”

More than 20 credentials have been issued by the Bucks to 16 Chinese media outlets, and four stations will televise the game, including the government-run network CCTV, Shanghai TV-China, ESPN Hong Kong and Videoland - Taiwan. All will televise the game live except Shanghai TV. The television audience in China is estimated to be at least 200 million and possibly even higher, with many people at home to celebrate the Chinese New Year. “It’s really unique,” said Bucks owner Herb Kohl, who attended the team’s shootaround. “It’s a manifestation of how sports does transcend international barriers and boundaries. When I bought the team it was a small business, comparatively. Now it’s a huge business and a worldwide business.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Charlie Villanueva: “I would really like to make Milwaukee a part of my future, but it doesn’t seem realistic at this point in time unless something changes. The moves made by management in the last few months indicate to me that I’m not as important as I once was to this team. I’m not completely sold on my role with the Milwaukee Bucks. And listen folks, I’m just being honest here with you guys. I’m not trying to start any more ‘rah-rah’ to add to the rumors.”

NBA.com

An NBA source told John Canzano of the Oregonian via telephone on Wednesday night that Zach Randolph is on the trading block, and that he’s likely to end up in Milwaukee.

The Oregonian

Team of the week — Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks rolled to a 3-0 week, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks at home and the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. Their overall winning streak is at five, and they are 6-0 at home. Guards Mo Williams and Michael Redd led the way last week. Point guard Williams averaged 19.0 points and 9.3 assists and shooting guard Michael Redd 29.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

USA Today