Potential Milwaukee Bucks Assigned Players

In the spirit of Halloween, here is me dressed up for 80's night last year. First person to leave a comment saying who I am in the picture above gets two free Mad Ants Lower Level Sideline scrip tickets.

The Milwaukee Bucks signed on as the Mad Ants third affiliate before last season. Mr. John Hammond (Bucks GM) chose not to assign a player to Fort Wayne last year. He actually had some pretty good reasons. First Joe Alexander was his first round draft pick, and as this was Mr. Hammond's first year as the Bucks GM it would have looked suspect to send your first pick to the D-League. There was some communication before the season that Bucks second rounder Luc Richard Mbah a Moute would be coming to the Mad Ants. Mbah a Moute dismissed that rumour by playing so well as to earn a regular spot in the Bucks rotation. He even started last night against the 76ers .

The good thing is that John Hammond was the right hand man of Joe Dumars in Detroit. Mr. Hammond even made a couple of trips to Mad Ants game to see Piston project/prospect Cheikh Samb play. He is very familiar with the benefits of the D-League. There was just not a real opportunity to assign anyone last year in which it would have benefited the Bucks in any way.

The Bucks as an organization saw the success of the D-League in 07-8 when they assigned Ramon Sessions to Tulsa for most of the season. Sessions (and then Tulsa Coach Joey Meyer) played a big role in defeating the Mad Ants in their home opener. Sessions was a top free agent this season, before being signed by the T-Wolves. So the Mad Ants have the added benefit of Coach Meyer being our head coach, as NBA teams saw the results with the success of Ramon Sessions. This makes our affiliates much more comfortable and eager to assign their players to the Mad Ants.

On to some actual players:

Jodie Meeks
College: Kentucky
Position Shooting Guard
2nd Round 2009 Draft Pick

I would say Meeks is most likely player we will possibly see sent from the Bucks this season. He will be playing behind Michael Redd and Charlie Bell, which does not leave many minutes for Mr. Meeks. He received a fair amount of looks in the preseason but that does not always translate into playing time during the regular season. My guess is that we will see him down in Fort Wayne for one or two small stretches of games. He received a DNP in the Bucks home opener last night.

Chance of seeing him in Fort Wayne: 40%

Brandon Jennings
College: None
Position: Point Guard
Bucks First Round Draft Pick

I am not going to spend much time here, especially after Jennings almost had a triple double in her first regular season NBA game.

Chance of seeing him in Fort Wayne: 0% (unless he decides to stop in on his way to Cleveland for a Cavs game to enjoy a delicious meal at Club Soda or Texas Roadhouse) This would also imply the Bucks drive to Cleveland, so it's officially official ZERO PERCENT.

Joe Alexander
College: West Virginia
Position: SF/PF
1st Round Draft Pick 2008

Before I read this article, I would have told you Alexander has about the same chance of wearing a Mad Ants uniform as Jennings. The article says the Bucks are declining to extend Alexander's contract past this season. It sounds like the Bucks are potentially cutting their losses with Joe and moving on. He still has entire regular season to sit through though. Why not send him to the Mad Ants to boost his confidence and get him some on-court playing time? Who knows, maybe that is exactly what he needs. Plus Alexander currently has an injured hamstring and will not be back to December. This is exactly what the D-League should be used for, rehabbing injuries and helping guys get their legs back before being thrown into the pace of an NBA game.

Chance of seeing him in Fort Wayne: 15%




Roko Ukic
College: None
Draft: None
Position: Guard

This guy played in 72 games with the Raptors last year. I do not know much about him past that. I will put his chances up with Jennings on seeing Fort Wayne anytime this year, unless he looks down on the flight from Milwaukee to Indy.

Chance of seeing him in Fort Wayne: 0%

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
College: UCLA
Draft: 2nd Round 2008
Position: PF

As I mentioned above, we were expecting to see Prince Mbah a Moute down for a sting with the Ants last year. He proved to be a diamond in the rough and earned a big spot int he Bucks rotation, and the starting lineup.

Chance of seeing him in Fort Wayne: 0%


That wraps up my look at the Bucks. Stay tuned for the Pistons write up on Monday or Tuesday. Have a happy and safe Halloween. If you need to reach me I'll be hanging out in a pumpkin patch awaiting the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.