Advice for John Hammond for Building 2011-12 Milwaukee Bucks

Let's put the presumptive NBA lockout aside for the purposes of this post and assume that there will in fact be a 2011-12 NBA Season. Much like I did for Ted Thompson following Super Bowl XLV, here is my best advice for how general manger John Hammond should proceed going into the 2011-12 NBA Season:

Point Guard:
- Under Contract for 2011: Brandon Jennings and Keyon Dooling
- Restricted Free Agent: None
- Free Agent: Earl Boykins
- Advice: Despite my love for short guys because I am a card carrying member of the short guy club, let Boykins leave via free agency. After that, fortify the back-up point guard position with an upgrade over Dooling via trade, the draft, or free agency. I say an upgrade over Dooling because not only will an upgrade over Dooling give Jennings a breather but the Bucks need someone that will actually push Jennings to play better. During his rookie season Jennings had Luke Ridnour pushing him to play better but for his sophomore campaign he didn't really have a guy that pushed him. Finally if someone wants Dooling for a bag of balls, trade him. The only reason to hold onto Dooling is to include him in a trade deadline deal for salary cap purposes.


Shooting Guard:
- Under Contract for 2011: John Salmons
- Restricted Free Agent: Chris Douglas-Roberts
- Unrestricted Free Agent: Michael Redd
- Advice: Unfortunately Salmons looks like the presumptive starter heading into next season. After that, unless Michael Redd wants to pay to play for the Bucks next year, let him walk because a 30-something shooting guard that is coming off two massive knee surgeries the last two seasons is not an ideal back-up shooting guard. After that, tender CDR. Unfortunately it seems like the writing is on the wall that the Bucks want to move on without him but much like Dooling, CDR is worth being a salary cap consideration in a trade deadline deal.


Small Forward:
- Under Contract for 2011: Carlos Delfino and Corey Maggette
- Restricted Free Agent: None
- Unrestricted Free Agent: None
- Advice: If you can move Corey Maggette, do it as long as you don't take on more years or a more expensive contract. After that, decide what the long-term plan is for Carlos Delfino because he is in the last year of the three-year, $10.5 million deal that seems like highway robbery by NBA standards.


Power Forward:
- Under Contract for 2011: Drew Gooden, Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders, and Jon Brockman
- Restricted Free Agent: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
- Unrestricted Free Agent: None
- Advice: Tender The Prince (Luc Richard Mbah a Moute). That will allow the Bucks to match any offer that The Prince gets. In terms of how much money the Bucks should commit to The Prince, match any offer he gets as long as it is less than the mid-level exception because he is hands down the best defender on the current roster. Every time I have a chance to say it I will, Ilyasova a poor let me stress poor man's Dirk Nowitzki. As a result, Ilyasova deserves every chance possible to be on the court. After that, how many tall trees that aren't that good can the Bucks have? Brockman seems like nothing more than a practice player despite the fact that I love his motor, Sanders looks like a long-term project, and Gooden just needs to get healthy. Please don't draft a power forward in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft unless his name is Bismack Biyombo or Kenneth Faried.


Center:
- Under Contract for 2011: Andrew Bogut
- Restricted Free Agent: None
- Unrestricted Free Agent: None
- Advice: Clearly Bogut was not 100% last year after a freakish injury cut his 2009-10 season short. Unfortunately the Bucks continue to add tweener power forward/centers (Gooden and Sanders) that don't really give the Bucks a legitimate center option besides Bogut. At the very least the Bucks should take a flier on a big guy in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft to help out Bogut.