Herb Kohl has actually heard two State of the Union addresses over the past couple of weeks. The more recent one had parts released in advance and was blandly predictable. The other was more eagerly awaited, with an uncertain delivery date.
President Bush may have what one of the Republican hopefuls likens to a bunker mentality,"" but even that fails to measure up to Larry Harris' disappearance act. Perhaps if you had staked your reputation and general manager's job on the Milwaukee Bucks' performance this season, you too would go noticeably absent.
This season for the Bucks - which is scarily similar to the past five - makes it easy to forget the pledge that Harris, who's in the last year of his contract, made before the season started.
Even if he was unsure when he said this team was the most talented he had assembled, he didn't betray that emotion. He said with confidence that the Bucks were ready to move out of the league basement defense and up into the middle of the pack.
Last check, the Bucks were giving up over 100 points per game, 10th worst among all 30 teams. Their stated goal of giving up no more than 45 percent shooting is still just that - they are third worst in the league, allowing 47 percent from the field.
No wonder Harris took as long as he did to come out of the woodwork and speak at length about this team's issues. Even still, last week in Toronto, he didn't own up to the train wreck he has engineered.
Before the Bucks got crushed in Toronto, Harris said that he was ""disappointed"" with the team. Someone file that in the category of all-time euphemisms.
""I'm disappointed with our record, where it's at, because we've played so many close games and we haven't been able to close those out,"" Harris said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The reason for that is not difficult to figure out. Closing games out requires two main components: defense and chemistry. The Bucks are in short supply, and most of the blame falls on Harris and his flawed investments.
The backcourt is where the Bucks' defense becomes most exposed. Neither Mo Williams nor Michael Redd have shown the ability to play smart defense that those positions require. Eventually, one of those two will have to be traded for that reason and others. It won't be Harris that cuts the deal, though.
The only starters on the Bucks who will play the type of defense that will make the Bucks successful are Andrew Bogut and Yi Jianlian. Small forward is by far the biggest void on the team, a problem caused by Harris's miscalculation by signing Bobby Simmons to an albatross of a contract.
These defensive shortcomings could be somewhat countervailed if the Bucks had any sort of chemistry. But the team's biggest problem is that it lacks just that, which counts as another indictment of Harris. While he knows how to assess players for their talent, his downfall has been his inability to put together athletes who complement each other.
As the owner, Kohl has an easy decision to make in dismissing his general manager. His challenge is to find a replacement who can get the franchise back to a level of respectability and give that new general manager the freedom to make the necessary moves. With the exception of Bogut and Yi, nobody is untouchable.
If you have possible trade ideas, e-mail Jon at bortin@wisc.edu.
