Ted Davis on the Bucks future

Ted Davis, the radio Voice of the Milwaukee Bucks, had some interesting things to say on WTMJ AM 620 regarding the team's future direction. I'll briefly summarize his talking points (from memory as I heard them driving in my car):

1. His first point, when asked directly about it by the host, is that BucksNation should remain fundamentally optimistic about the team's future. Ted said that in his 23 years working in and around the Association he never encountered a team as injury-riddled as the Bucks were this season, and thus he said the team's record did not accurately reflect its competitive disposition (one nitpick point -- he kept saying "this is not a 24-58 team" and as I'm riding around in my car I kept thinking "No, they're not, they finished 28-54, Ted." But, cut him a break, we all get a moment of dyslexia once in a while). He said further that the team has plenty of cap flexibility to improve their roster and that they will most assuredly add an impact player in this year's draft. He said scouts are telling him this is the first draft in a long time that goes 10 or 11 deep in impact players.

2. He thinks that if they land the top pick they should draft Greg Oden. He made the same fundamental case for Oden I've kicked around in my mind for months: The Bucks are in desperate need of a guy who can defend the rim, and that is Oden's forte. According to Davis, Oden's presence alone would immediately improve the Bucks team defense... an area in desperate need of improvement. He also made another point I've thought about lately: If I were an NBA GM, I would pray that I got the No. 2 pick. That way you can always say your hand was dealt to you.

3. He says that if the Bucks land below the money picks they should draft a power forward (tells you what he thinks of Charlie Villanueva at the 4 spot). He specifically mentioned names I concur with: Al Horford of Florida and Brandan Wright of North Carolina. I was pleased that I did not hear him include this name on his list: Joakim "No Don't!" Noah of Florida.

4. Ted said the Bucks should use their cap room to go aggressively after one of the following three defensive-minded free agents: Gerald Wallace of Charlotte; Andres Nocioni of Chicago; and Mickael Pietrus of Golden State. He said their major focus should be on landing Wallace because Wallace will bring you scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking. If you read my post on this topic you will know that I agree with Davis wholeheartedly.

5. Finally, Davis says that while the Bucks absolutely must improve on defense, he doesn't believe they have to become "the San Antonio Spurs". He rightly points out that with the Bucks offensive fire power they can make a substantial improvement in their record by simply moving themselves from rock bottom to around the middle of the pack when it comes to defensive efficiency.

All very interesting insights from a guy I think the Bucks are lucky to have announcing their games on their radio network.

I'll do my own Bucks season report card in the next few days. Right now I'm really into the NBA Playoffs.