Desmond Mason back to the Bucks? Nooooo!!!!!

According to Gary Woelfel, the Bucks free agent hit list includes two players who were good enough to help them win 28 games last year (Mo Williams, Charlie Bell), and one player whom the team thought so much of two years ago they shipped him to New Orleans for the dreadful Jamaal Magliore (Desmond Mason). Reading this "hit list" I think there might be some confusion downtown on Fourth Street. When you won 28 games the previous season, you should target free agents that might actually threaten to improve your team. Prioritizing last year's models and a guy who is way past his prime is what I would call uninspired.

But I'll bet if they sign Mason it will be considered a popular move around town. For some reason Mason still garners a lot of love here in Milwaukee. My question is: Why? Because he could throw down cool dunks? Ho-hum. Just rent one of those moronic "And one" mixed tapes if that's your thing. Besides, dunking was all he could do consistently well when he was here, and his skills have gotten worse since he left town. Over the past two years, he has consistently been among the least productive full time players in the National Basketball Association.

Mason's Eff48 of 14.32 last season was hideously bad. Its way under his already lousy career average of 18.23, and its so far below the median for his position that, as Joey from Friends would say, the median is a dot to him.

Let me try to put his numbers into context for you. David Noel, who performs basically the same functions as Mason, and who was no one's Rookie of the Year candidate last season, had an Eff48 of 15.27. In fact, the only Buck currently on the roster who recorded a worse Eff48 than Mason was the lowly Damir Markota (11.24). But, as bad as Mason's numbers were last season, they were actually an upgrade from the previous year when he recorded the embarrasing Eff48 of 12.69. Clearly, his career is in decline.

So how exactly is signing Desmond Mason going to upgrade our lineup?

Footnote: Check out the first comment below Woelfel's post -- its paulpressey25! He's everywhere. He's dead on with his opinion, too. I'll never understand how the Journal-Sentinel does such a good job covering an out-of-town team (the Packers), and such a lousy job of covering the hometown Bucks. Is Woelfel the only guy willing to make an effort to dig up information?