Andrew Bogut spends part of the offseason in Croatia, which may seem odd since he’s from Australia. But he doesn’t like going from winter in the U.S. to winter in Australia, so he has an apartment in Croatia, which is where his grandparents are from.

Anyway, he spoke with HoopsHype about a wide-range of topics. Here’s his take on Brandon Jennings:

He had a very good first season and in the second he had an injury and it was a little up and down. But he’s a guy that’s a very, very hard worker. I definitely enjoy playing with him because I can see in the offseason and during the offseason how hard he works on his game. I don’t think people realize the work he puts in. Maybe they see him doing these tours with Under Armour and think he’s not working on his game, but he’s a very hard worker. He’s going to get better and better. You have to remember he’s still very young and his potential is huge.

Bogut and Jennings are the Bucks’ core, in that order, so the duo better learn to be effective with each other. They have shown flashes, but last year it was a real struggle to score, and that’s on them.

Bogut was asked about being slighted for an All-Star nod and here’s what he had to say:

I think this year I didn’t deserve it, but the previous year I was a little hurt about it. That’s just the NBA. Al Horford deserved to be in because his team had a much better record than us, but the previous year they put David Lee with a worse record than us… (Making the All-Star team) is one of those goal that you work towards and hopefully one day I will have my All-Star jersey.

Bogut also mentioned that he was shocked he didn’t make the All-Defensive 2nd Team, and I agree with him. I thought he was in the running for DPOY and he didn’t even get a 2nd Team nod. But like Andrew says, that’s the NBA.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead, but failed to get a good look at the hoop. It’s a situation where Brandon Jennings has to create his own shot, but he ended up picking up his dribble and giving the ball to Luc Mbah a Moute, who tried to draw the foul on an airborne player.

Ginobili had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts (21 points) and Drew Gooden (20 points) led the Bucks in scoring, but it was Andrew Bogut (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and SEVEN BLOCKS) who was the player of the game for Milwaukee. I sure hope he gets a long, hard look for the All-Star team, but Al Horford, Shaquille O’Neal, Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. None of those players are the defensive presence that Bogut is, however.

This year, I’m going to preview the NBA season by starting with the lowest of the low and working my way up to my Finals picks. If a franchise is a legitimate championship contender, I’ll focus on what stars have to line up for a title run. If a team is a playoff also-ran, I’ll identify the weaknesses that have to be shored up via trade, free agency or draft over the next couple of seasons to make it a contender. If a team is likely to miss the playoffs, I’ll take a look at the salary cap, and provide a blueprint for how the team should proceed in the near future to get back in the postseason.

#15: New York Knicks
The Knicks missed out on LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh this summer, but they did land Amare Stoudemire, and also acquired Raymond Felton to run the point. David Lee is gone, but New York did get a good young player in Anthony Randolph to take his place. In other words, this Knicks team is going to look a lot different than last year’s club, and probably for the better. Newcomers Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, Roger Mason, (promising) Russian center Timofey Mozgov along with Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas will round out Mike D’Antoni’s rotation. Cap-wise, the Knicks are still in good shape. Eddy Curry’s $11 M expiring deal can be used as trade bait or the franchise can just let it come off the books, creating around $18 million in cap space next summer, which they could use to sign Carmelo Anthony if he hits free agency. The only big contract on the payroll is Stoudemire’s deal, and the Knicks really need him to stay healthy in order to get their money’s worth. This looks like a franchise on the rise, but they need to land one more star to threaten the upper echelon of the East.

#14: Atlanta Hawks
Entering this summer’s free agency period, no one thought that Joe Johnson was going to be the guy to sign the biggest contract, but that’s exactly what happened, and there’s a good chance that the Hawks come to regret the decision to offer him a max deal. This team has improved dramatically over the past few years, but doesn’t seem to be in any danger of making the Finals. The Hawks were pushed to seven games by an Andrew Bogut-less Bucks team. If that series proved anything, it’s that the Hawks are a long way from competing for an NBA title. Still, there’s enough talent here — Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, Mike Bibby — to keep the Hawks competitive, but at the very best, Atlanta is just treading water in a conference that got a lot tougher this summer. Financially, I wouldn’t say that the team is screwed, but it’s going to be very difficult to add any talent to the roster. They should be able to keep the Johnson-Smith-Horford core together, however, and that should guarantee 40+ wins for the next few years.

#13: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks’ emergence as an Eastern Conference upstart was one of the better stories of the 2009-10 season. The rise was a confluence of events — namely Andrew Bogut’s development as one of the best two-way centers in the league, the electric play of rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, the savvy trade for underrated swingman John Salmons and Scott Skiles’ ability to get his players to work on the defensive end. This summer, the Bucks added Corey Maggette (a move that will actually save them money this season), Drew Gooden and Jon Brockman, who collectively should bolster the team’s frontcourt. There are two big questions heading into the season: 1) Is Andrew Bogut healthy enough to play at a high level? and 2) Will Scott Skiles’ disciplined play start to wear on his team? The answer to those questions will determine whether or not the young Bucks will finish as a Top 5 seed in the East or be battling for a playoff spot late in the season. From a payroll standpoint, Michael Redd’s bloated salary will finally come off the books next summer, which will give the Bucks about $10 million in cap space In the long run, John Hammond may come to regret giving long-term contracts to Salmons and Gooden, but in the short term, those players will help to make this club competitive. Fear the deer.

#12: Portland Trail Blazers
It seems like every season, the Blazers look like they’re on the verge of joining the West’s elite and every season, injuries take their toll. There’s no doubt that Portland’s roster is talented, but can Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden (or Marcus Camby) stay healthy throughout the year? Because you need to be on the court in order to play. Seriously. Another issue may be Rudy Fernandez, who thinks he should be getting starter’s minutes even though he plays the same position as the team’s best player. Newcomer Wes Matthews will bolster the Blazers’ rotation at the wing, especially if Fernandez gets his wish and is traded. Cap-wise, the Blazers won’t have any significant flexibility until the summer of 2012, when Camby’s deal comes off the books. Still, with Roy and Aldridge in tow, Portland should be an attractive landing spot for a top tier free agent. Unfortunately, the Blazers just don’t seem like they’re ever going to put it together, and by firing the architect that put this team together (Kevin Pritchard), it has put the franchise in flux.

#11: Houston Rockets
Looking for a darkhorse in the West? Look no further. If Yao Ming can stay healthy (and that’s a real big IF), the Rockets are primed for a great season. They have potent backcourt with Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, and a pair of do-the-dirty work forwards in Shane Battier and Luis Scola, who is coming off a terrific run at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The bench is good too. The big question is whether or not Yao can enter the playoffs in good health. If he can, the Rockets will be a good bet to make a deep run. And Yao needs a good season since he’s entering the final year of his deal. He has spent the better part of the last few seasons injured, and we’re at the point where we’re wondering if a franchise can truly build around a player that is this injury-prone. With Yao, Battier and Jared Jeffries coming off the books next summer, the Rockets figure to have around $19 million in cap space, which puts the franchise in good position to move on if Yao’s feet continue to give him problems.

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Joakim Noah wasn’t happy with the Bulls’ $55 million offer, but Chicago upped the ante and it seems the two parties have agreed to an extension.

The deal is worth $60 million plus additional bonuses, Dan Fegan, one of Noah’s agents, told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

I compared Noah to Andrew Bogut in a previous post, and this contract sound a lot like the one Bogut signed two years ago. Bogut’s deal raised a few eyebrows then, but he has since developed one of the best two-way centers in the league, earning All-NBA 3rd Team honors last season in his best year as a pro.

Between this contract and their refusal to include him in a deal for Carmelo Anthony, the Bulls obviously value what Noah brings to the table. According to 82 Games, his net points (per 100 possessions) was +0.9 last season, while Bogut’s was +8.0. In three head-to-head matchups last year, Bogut averaged 22/14 on 52% shooting, while Noah posted 10/16 on 42% shooting.

I think $12 M+ per season for a defensive/rebounding specialist is steep, but maybe Noah will develop offensively in the same way Bogut did. The difference is that Bogut started with a pretty good post game and developed from there, while Noah’s current post moves are rudimentary at best.

Over on Hornets247, Michael McNamara argues that trading Chris Paul away would mean that New Orleans is adopting the philosophy of the Milwaukee Bucks, which just doesn’t work for him.

First off, it is necessary to acknowledge your own personal philosophy with regard to what qualifies as success in the NBA. Personally, I am an all or nothing guy and believe in only three directions: being a legitimate championship contender, building toward being a legit contender, and completely rebuilding. I look at a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, for instance, and see a direction that I would never take personally. They have a nice team that is built to make the playoffs for the next five to seven years, but have absolutely zero chance of ever winning an NBA title. Zero. A squad full of good, but not great pieces that play hard every night but will just not have enough talent to get through four quality teams come playoff time.

Now for some, they might be happy with Milwaukee’s future and consider their franchise a success considering the market they are in and the resources they have to work with.

As an all or nothing guy I can think of scenarios that are far worse than CP3 leaving in two years. I can imagine other players following Paul’s lead if we trade him out of fear. How do you say no to the next guy who feels entitled when you just appeased Chris Paul’s trade demands? I can imagine becoming a perennial playoff team terrified to blow up the roster; a team that overpays their own players just to remain slightly above average. (I am looking at you Atlanta). I can imagine an asylum run by the players, a front office with no control, and a coach who feels powerless. All of these things happen if you let fear of the future dictate the present. All of these things are worse case scenarios for me, but again it all depends on your definition of success.

With CP3 on the squad I know there is a chance. I know tha t with Kobe slowly declining, Howard not improving offensively, and Wade always one fall away from a serious injury that CP3 can be a top two player in this league if he puts it all together and stays healthy. I know that in at least seventy games per year the Hornets will have the best player on the floor and in the NBA that means more than it does in any other team sport. I know that if management makes the right moves and ownership is willing to pay the luxury tax that the Hornets at least have a shot. The same cannot be said for twenty to twenty five teams in this league.

As a Bucks fan, using the franchise’s current state/direction as a reason not to follow its philosophy is puzzling.

Milwaukee is a small market team in a cold-weather city in the Midwest. It is often ranked by NBA players as the least desirable place to play, even though when people stay for a few years they tend to warm up to the place. Given the circumstances, the Bucks are never going to be in a position to land a big name free agent unless the supporting cast gets so good that the player in question sees the Bucks as his best opportunity to win a title. It’s true — the Bucks would probably need a Reggie White-type signing to become a championship contender. (Football fans over 30 know what I mean.)

The author says that the Bucks have no chance to win a title with their current game plan, but GM John Hammond came from Detroit, where they won a championship a few years ago with very much the same philosophy. They had a group of star-less, yet talented castoffs and a defensive-minded coach to lead them all in the same direction. In the Finals, they beat a more talented (and a far more disjointed) Laker team.

Hammond knows the Bucks are never going to go into the season as championship favorites, but if the chemistry remains and Brandon Jennings develops, they could perhaps become the third- or fourth-best team in the East. The author looks at this like a death sentence, but what it really means is that the Bucks are an injury or two away from a Finals appearance.

(It’s really no different than the philosophy executed in small market San Antonio, only the Spurs have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to build around instead of Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings. The Spurs have a better core because they had the #1 pick in the right draft and found a couple of stars later on in subsequent drafts.)

How does this relate to Chris Paul? If the Hornets elect to trade him and get a few prospects in return, they’ll be going the route of the Milwaukee Bucks, at best. If they hold onto him, he’s likely to only grow more disgruntled unless the franchise is quickly able to turn things around and suddenly becomes willing to spend. The Hornets need a Pau Gasol-type trade to keep Paul happy, and those kinds of deals don’t happen every season. Even if they did, the Hornets don’t spend like the Lakers, and New Orleans is not L.A., so retaining the talent would be difficult.

Considering the Hornets’ summer moves (lack of a free agent signing, trading away the #11 pick), the writing is on the wall. Do Hornets fans want to hold out hope that the franchise can quickly transform its declining roster around a pouting Paul, or roll the dice on players with upside like Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari, along with a ton of cap space?

As for Paul, look at it this way — if a girl doesn’t want to stay with you, why would you want her to stay? By the time she tells you she wants to break up, she has already checked out. No amount of convincing will work, so what’s the point? Why not move on and give yourself the best chance to meet a new girl?

Maybe the term ‘surprise’ shouldn’t be applied to the 15th pick in the NBA Draft, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Bucks’ first rounder, who was most often described as ‘raw’ by the draft punditry.

A little background: Sanders is 21 and left VCU after his junior season. He averaged 14-9 with 2.7 blocks per game last season. He’s 6-10.5 in shoes and has a monstrous 7-5.75 wingspan, giving him a standing reach of 9-4, which in his draft class trails only DeMarcus Cousins, Solomon Alabi and Jerome Jordan, who all have a standing reach of 9-5. His athletic tests (vertical 28″, lane agility 12.49) were not good, though he can really run the floor for a guy his size.

He also had a good Summer League…here are a few comments from around the internets:

Matt Moore, CBS Sports: The Bucks are going to have a fleet of capable, talented power forwards this season. Sanders was one of the most impressive rookies in Vegas, playing solid defense, showing off a well-balanced frame, and looking very much like a versatile offensive option. Sanders’ mid-range game was considerably better than expected. He showed nice tough with the ball and again, is a mountain in terms of size. He needs to work on his spacing and defensive awareness, but it was a very impressive showing.

TrueHoop: How will Larry Sanders’ game fit in with Milwaukee’s existing parts? His sound face-up 18-footer will help a Bucks offense that was choked for open space in the half court. He also gives Brandon Jennings another dependable partner on the pick-and-roll and wins almost every race to the rim in transition. A Sanders-Andrew Bogut tandem could eventually constitute the best defensive frontcourt in the league. Milwaukee is unlikely to reach the highest echelon in the East with its firepower, but by blanketing the paint with two capable pick-and-roll defenders who can block shots and clean the glass, the Bucks have the makings of a team that could post a stingy defensive efficiency rating in the high 90s.

Jarrod Gillis, Examiner: In four games of summer league action Sanders is averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game (leads Bucks summer league team in points, rebounds, and blocks). He is the type of player that guys love to play with strictly based on the fact that he cleans up everything around the basket and has everyone’s back on the defensive end. His game very closely mirrors that of one, Marcus Camby. Another long, wiry 6’11″ guy that has made quite a career out of using his length, athleticism and excellent timing to wreak havoc on the defensive end of the court. Not a bad comparison, as Camby, when healthy, is one of the most dynamic players we have in our league today from a defensive standpoint. Sanders is not a fluent offensive player at this point in his early career. And from watching him courtside it is telling that his slight frame is a major issue when attempting to establish position on the block.

Frank Madden, BrewHoop: He again looked very comfortable catching and shooting from 15-18 feet, and by the end of the game he was really feeling good when he buried those two threes. He also splashed in a turnaround from the post for the second straight game, and all told it’s hard to deny that Sanders has more touch than he was given credit for before the draft. I don’t see him pumping in too many triples come the regular season, but his compact, well-balanced stroke looks like it should be a weapon from mid-range. Sanders also finished inside on a handful of occasions, throwing down a nice one-handed dunk and a couple short glassers off of broken plays. It looks like he has room to improve his finishing strength, but his opportunities have also been somewhat limited given the guards he’s playing with in Vegas. Lastly, Sanders had a couple nice passes to find Gallon open for layups, and he also had a very nice bounce pass out of the post to a cutting guard. I wrote last night that he’s definitely not just an athlete, and tonight we saw it even more.

Jon Krolik, ProBasketballTalk: Larry Sanders can flat-out play. He has so much skill for a guy with his size, length, and athleticism, and he’s one of the best defenders in Summer League. I’m genuinely excited to see a defensive frontline of Mbah a Moute/Sanders/Bogut in some situations next season.

Kevin Arnovitz, TrueHoop: The best descriptor for Larry Sanders? Grown-up. Sanders knows his way around a basketball court. He’s a vocal, standout team defender who knows where and, more important, when his help is needed. Offensively, he sets up low on the block — primed for the deep catch — and wins every race to the rim in transition. When he steps out to 17 feet, Sanders launches a face-up jumper with an air-tight rotation on the ball. Sanders may never be a Top 5 power forward in the league, but his fundamentals suggest he’s going to be a pretty effective player for a very long time.