I’m not sure that this is what I wanted to hear, but Bucks GM John Hammond says he’s going to be careful with the payroll this summer.
The team’s financial discipline will affect the future and, more specifically, restricted free agents Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, and possibly European player Ersan Ilyasova. It will affect whom the Bucks select in the draft and whether they will be able to sign a free agent this summer, which right now appears highly unlikely.
The upside, though, is that if the Bucks are able to maintain that discipline now, as difficult as it might be, it will afford them the flexibility in a year or two to make some major moves and deal from a position of power rather than with their backs against the wall.
“We need to have discipline moving forward,” said Hammond. “That means that we need to have discipline from the financial side of our decisions. We are a team that is teetering at the (luxury) tax and for us to change our roster and to move the organization in a direction which we feel that we would want to go, we’re going to need some financial flexibility. And in order to get to that position, we have to have discipline here initially.”
In order to maintain the rights to Villanueva, the Bucks will have to present him with a qualifying offer (determined by a formula based on the player’s previous salary and where he was drafted) of $4.5 million. Unless the luxury tax turns out to be higher than anticipated, paying Villanueva that kind of money would take the Bucks into tax territory, which means the Bucks would not make him a qualifying offer. Villanueva would then become an unrestricted free agent and would be able to go to any team with no compensation to the Bucks.
That is where the financial discipline would enter in.
Last season, Villanueva was an asset at the $3.4 million that he was paid. But would he remain an asset at a $4.5 million salary – or even higher, if another team gave him an offer sheet that exceeded that figure – especially if it meant the Bucks would be paying the tax?
The same can be said for Sessions, who was an asset last season at a $712,000 salary. But would he remain an asset if another team offered him a multi-million dollar offer sheet that the Bucks would have to match to keep him?
I have no problem if the Bucks decide to let Villanueva walk. It would be nice to get something in return, but I understand if financial constraints force the team to pass on making him the qualifying offer to retain his rights.
Sessions is another matter. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists in 27.5 minutes of playing time this season. In 38 games as a starter, he averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 assists in 33.8 minutes of PT. His PER (17.65) is #13 amongst point guards and the fifth-best amongst point guards under the age of 26. His +/- numbers are the best on the team for anyone who played more than 1200 minutes. He has a knack for getting to the rim, which is a skill that has become more and more important since rule changes have reduced the amount of contact defenders can deliver on the perimeter. Since Michael Redd is more of a spot up shooter, Sessions is a good complement.
In short, the Bucks would be nuts to let him go. He’s still flying under the radar, so Milwaukee could probably lock him up for 4-5 years at $3-$4 million per season. If he continues on his current career trajectory, the Bucks could have a top 10 point guard in the next season or two at a very reasonable price.
