Head coach Scott Skiles has been on board with GM John Hammond's moves, including the acquisition of Richard Jefferson. (Getty)

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September 4, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- When the Milwaukee Bucks unveil their 2008-09 media guide, it ought to have John Hammond and Scott Skiles on the cover.

That is because early indications have shown that more often than not, the team’s first-year general manager and coach are almost uncannily on the same page.

The two have worked together for less than five months, so it’s not like they’ve had a lot of time to compare notes.

And they have never worked for the same organization before.

But they seem to have already established a smooth working relationship, which is something that some GMs and head coaches never do.

And as they strive to re-establish a winning tradition within the Bucks organization, it has become obvious that they, along with the players wearing the green, red, silver and white, will all be in this together. Anyone who doesn’t get with the program will most likely find himself in another one.

Last April 11, the day the Bucks announced they had hired Hammond, he quickly made it clear that he understands how a successful National Basketball Association franchise functions, and that Bucks fans can expect to see the process in action here.

“I want to thank Senator Kohl for the opportunity to be the general manager of the Bucks,” Hammond said at his introductory press conference. “I had the pleasure of working under one of the best executives in the game today in Joe Dumars, and I thank him for the opportunity he gave me to be a part of Detroit’s winning tradition.

“The Bucks are a history-rich franchise with amazing fans, and I look forward to the challenge of bringing a championship back to Milwaukee.”

And when Hammond was back in front of the microphones 10 days later to introduce the Bucks’ new coach, his hire expressed a commitment to teamwork that wasn’t really surprising at all, coming from the NBA’s single-game assists record-holder.

“I want to thank Senator Kohl and John Hammond for giving me this opportunity,” Skiles said. “There is an enormous depth of young talent on this team, and the future is promising.

“I’m ready to work with John and the entire organization to bring a winning team back to Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and its passionate fans.”

The work of which Skiles spoke got under way immediately, and it will continue to be a work in progress.

Since their partnership began, Hammond and Skiles have overseen an overhaul of Milwaukee’s 2007-08 roster. Gone are Mo Williams, who started 226 games over a four-year hitch with the Bucks, and 2007 NBA Lottery pick Yi Jianlian, who made 49 starts in his rookie season.

Desmond Mason, Bobby Simmons, Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl will also be wearing different teams’ uniforms in 2008-09.

Among those players who are expected to inherit their lockers are 2004 United States Olympian Richard Jefferson, rookie forwards Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and veterans Tyronn Lue and Malik Allen.

Hammond and Skiles intersected again when they announced the trade that brought Jefferson to Milwaukee in exchange for Yi and Simmons.

“Richard Jefferson has won every place that he’s been,” Hammond said. “He plays at Arizona and his team goes to a Final Four. He starts his NBA career with the Nets and they play in back-to-back NBA Finals.

“We’re talking about a guy who knows how to win, that has won. We know what kind player he is and what kind of man he’s been in this league. We’re very excited to have him here and we think he’s going to be a great addition to our team.”

Then Skiles took his turn at the mic.

“I co-sign on all of that,” he said. “I’ve been a Richard Jefferson guy for quite awhile. I liked him when I was in Phoenix. Of course, he was a local kid there. As John said, he went to Arizona. When the opportunity arose to get a player of this quality, when you’re coaching, it becomes very exciting.

“There’s a lot of things to like from a coaching standpoint. As I said, he’s a player that I’ve watched from afar and admired. I’m really happy he’s on my team right now.”

Hammond and Skiles arrived on the same page again during the days leading up to the Bucks’ second major trade of the offseason. That one netted them veteran point guard Luke Ridnour, who fit both of their job descriptions.

“Luke’s a player that I’ve liked for some time,” Skiles said, “and I found out in meeting this summer that he’s a player that John (Hammond) liked also, for what John just said: ‘He’s a pure point guard, he pushes the ball as well as anybody off the dribble, but particularly by the pass.”

Hammond and Skiles agreed, too, that the Bucks didn’t make the deal simply because they were looking to unload any of the players involved. They made it obvious again that they were both looking at the big picture that is the Milwaukee Bucks, and where they are going.

Hammond expressed hope that the Ridnor/Williams deal will work out for both players. But he didn’t make the trade with that concern at the forefront, and he dispelled concerns about dealing with a division rival.

“I think, where we’re at as a team, I don’t think we can worry about such things. First and foremost, our major concern is, ‘Can we make ourselves better?,’” he said. “At the end of the day, we think, ‘Is bringing Luke here going to be good for us?’ We think it will be. And hopefully it will be for Mo in Cleveland. “But we’re not going to sit here today and worry about that; we’re just going to worry about our team, the Milwaukee Bucks, and leave it at that.”

Skiles shares that perspective, too.

“A deal presented itself, and it happened to involve a player we like, which is a plus, of course,” he said. “When a deal comes along, you have to do what you can to try to improve yourself. And so we took it. We didn’t enter into this, at any point, looking at guys on our roster saying, ‘That guy has to go,’ or ‘That guy has to go.’ The way John works, and the way guys work in this business, is that every day, you’re looking to get better. John has been asked if his plan is taking shape.

“I’m not trying to speak for him, but it’s not like there’s some grandmaster plan that you can just pull off. It’s hard to make a trade in this league. Things have to go perfectly. So you take the opportunities when they present themselves. This one did, and we’re glad that it worked out.”

With the start of camp just a little more than a month away, Hammond and Skiles are now moving ahead on a united front.

“What we have here, we hope, is a team that’s going to compete every night … a team that will give itself a chance to win,” Hammond said. “With Scott as coach, we can have a team that’s going to find a way, some way, to defend, and become better defensively, and do the little things to help ourselves win games.

“If you have a team like that, hopefully you can be in games and give yourself a chance to win them at the end. I’ll say over and over again, at the end of the day, the wins and losses will take care of themselves. But I do think we have a good core group that’s going to be cohesive, work together and support each other, and be a group that Scott can coach. That’s what you need.

“You’ve got to give him a fair chance, give him a team that he can coach, a team that’s going to respect what he’s trying to teach and what we’re trying to sell. I think we’ve moved closer to that.”

Skiles is eager to take on the mission that has been presented to him.

“We’re going to be, one way or another, a much better defensive team,” he said. “Right behind that, we want to be a good rebounding team. And then we want to push the ball. And in that order.”

And the victories, the co-planners believe, will follow.