Bucks' Hammond named NBA Executive of the Year

NEW YORK, April 24, 2010 -- Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond has been named the recipient of the 2009-10 NBA Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced today.

Milwaukee totaled 46 wins in 2009-10, a 12-game improvement from last season, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth since 2005-06.

Hammond's decision to select Brandon Jennings with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft paid immediate dividends, as the guard earned a starting spot in training camp and went on to average 15.5 points during his rookie campaign.

Hammond tabbed Scott Skiles as Milwaukee's head coach when he took over, and Skiles' trademark commitment to defense has rubbed off. In two years, the Bucks have gone from allowing 103.9 ppg in 2007-08 (23rd) to 96.0 ppg in 2009-10 (seventh). Hammond drafted defensive-minded forward Luc Mbah a Moute (2008 Draft, 37th overall) and brought in veterans such as Carlos Delfino, John Salmons, Jerry Stackhouse and Kurt Thomas. This past summer, he also re-signed Ersan Ilyasova, who was originally drafted by the Bucks in 2005 and played one season for the team (2006-07) before returning to Europe for two seasons.

Hammond received 12 of a possible 30 votes from a panel of his fellow team executives throughout the NBA. Oklahoma City's Sam Presti finished second with nine votes and Cleveland's Danny Ferry finished third with two votes.

Charlotte's Rod Higgins, Dallas' Mark Cuban, Memphis' Chris Wallace, New Orleans' Jeff Bower, Portland's Kevin Pritchard, Sacramento's Geoff Petrie and Utah's Kevin O'Connor each received one vote.