I hope Bucks' GM Hammond is kidding

I don't like some of the comments I read from the Bucks new GM John Hammond in an interview with the Racine Journal Times. In the interview, Hammond essentially repeats the delusional "the problem was underachievement" thesis that former GM Larry Harris was babbling to himself as Bradley Center security escorted him out the doors of 1001 Fourth Street.

Here's the specific Hammond quote I refer to:

"I think what I would say about this team is probably what any coach here last year or any player that was here last year would say and that is they underachieved"

He later proceeded to basically blame the team's woes on Larry Krystkowiak. Hammond threw Krystkowiak under... well not a bus... it was more like one of those huge troop transporter planes. To make the point even clearer, he alluded to the fact that he "wasn't blaming" Coach K. Uh-huh. This is not the frank assessment I wanted to hear from the new leader of BucksNation. Its ridiculous on its face.

Underachieved? Maybe some of them technically did, but that's kind of like saying that Poland underachieved in World War II. Its irrelevant. Even their best wouldn't have been near good enough.

That's why I wish when someone makes the "underachievement" argument they would point out which specific players performed below their career norms, and exactly how many wins that cost the Bucks. Once you move away from abstractions, the argument falls apart. You can't make a rational case that the existing Bucks roster, with each player producing at his career norms, would have been anywhere near a winning team.

But, I'm going to give Hammond the benefit of the doubt. I am going to assume he's just putting lipstick on the pig he will probably have to sell at public auction next season. It may very well be that Hammond realizes it will take him a couple of years at least to get rid of some of the past regimes long-term mistakes.

Indeed, that is the view espoused by Bucks announcer Ted Davis. He believes there really isn't much Hammond can do immediately to revamp the roster. He will have to wait until some of the more foolish contract obligations the Bucks made finally expire. Davis believes, however, that either Michael Redd or Mo Williams will be traded before next season, with Redd being the more saleable commodity (even with his massive contract).