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If I reveal my source, I get fired. Simple as that. Like is said before, the hold up is the level of protection on the pickS coming to Milwaukee. In addition to that, a new problem has come up which is the health of Bobby Simmons.
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Hmm, maybe the guy was right after all:
Simmons to undergo foot surgeries
Forward could be done for season
By CHARLES F. GARDNER
cgardner@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 5, 2006
Milwaukee Bucks general manager Larry Harris would be excused for wondering if he made the right move in signing forward Bobby Simmons to a lucrative free-agent contract in the summer of 2005.
But Harris is not second-guessing his decision, even with the ominous news that Simmons will undergo two surgical procedures and could miss the rest of the season.
The 26-year-old Simmons has not played this year after suffering a severely bruised right heel early in training camp. His absence, combined with an elbow injury to power forward Charlie Villanueva, has shaken up the Bucks' lineup and contributed to the team's disappointing 6-11 start.
Harris said Tuesday that final discussions were taking place with doctors to determine the surgery schedule for Simmons. But it's likely two surgeries will be undertaken to repair three areas in his injured foot during the next four weeks. Simmons will have bone spurs removed in the first procedure, Harris said, and the second surgery will include the removal of a cyst on his heel.
The second surgery also will address the plantar fasciitis that has plagued Simmons since last season.
"In the next couple days, we'll have a more definitive plan, but we're working with the doctors on what that plan is going to be and when Bobby will wind up going out to L.A., and how that's all going to take place," Harris said.
Simmons was examined by doctors in Charlotte, N.C., Los Angeles and Indianapolis as the Bucks sought answers to his puzzling injury.
Rest did not solve the problem, and Harris said the doctors conferred on Monday and agreed surgery was required.
"All three (procedures) are necessary," Harris said. "Bobby tried to play some 1-on-1 on this (West Coast) trip, and he just couldn't do it."
Simmons was named the National Basketball Association's most improved player after the 2004-'05 season, when he averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Chicago native was one of the top free agents available during the following summer, and the Bucks nabbed him with a five-year, $47 million offer. Combined with their signing of shooting guard Michael Redd to a six-year, $91 million deal and the drafting of 7-footer Andrew Bogut with the No. 1 overall pick, the Bucks made some of the biggest noise during that summer.
Simmons averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Bucks last season while playing in 75 regular-season games.
"He was our second-leading scorer last year and he was probably going to have a better year this year," coach Terry Stotts said. "Having a year under his belt and with the way the roster was put together, he was going to be very important."
Stotts said too much was made of Simmons' statistics in his first year with the Bucks, and how his scoring and rebounding averages fell off from the previous year in Los Angeles.
"As a coach, I don't look at salaries," Stotts said. "I look at what a player is doing to help the team. Bobby was an important part of us getting to the playoffs last year."
The Bucks were hoping to play a certain way this season, to use an up-tempo style and spread the floor with Redd and Mo Williams at guards and Simmons, Charlie Villanueva and Bogut in the frontcourt. But that five never got on the floor together, and Villanueva was hurt in a Nov. 15 game at New Jersey.
Harris said Villanueva might be ready to rejoin the lineup Friday against Memphis, although the 6-foot-11 forward will miss the home game tonight against Portland.
"One thing Bobby was going to give us this year; we were anticipating being a really good three-point shooting team," Stotts said. "That takes a lot of pressure off the other guys."
Harris said he did not anticipate making any immediate moves to sign a veteran.
"Veterans are out there, but chemistry and rotations are important," Harris said about any possible moves. "I think throwing somebody else in there could confuse the issue."
The Bucks play five games over the next eight days, including three games at the Bradley Center against Portland, Memphis and Seattle. The team is off to a tough start at home with a 2-4 record thus far.
"It comes back to we've got to win at home," Harris said. "We've got to bring our fans back to the building and bring excitement back to the city.
"We've got a chance to win five now. We're preparing for the next five games, and we've got to look at it that we can go 5-0. We have the ability to do that."