The Journal Times Online - Racine, Wisconsin

BY GERY WOELFEL

Before the Milwaukee Bucks’ game against the New Orleans Wednesday night at the Bradley Center, I posed the following question to Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak:

"Do you expect the Bucks to make any trades before the Feb. 21 deadline?

Krystkowiak paused and responded, "I would say no.’’

A few seconds later, he added, "I think we can get it fixed with this group.’’

Apparently, Krystkowiak sees something that neither I nor any other follower of his dysfunctional "group’’ has seen. The Bucks’ are an abysmal 19-34 and, while that pathetic record speaks volumes, it doesn’t accurately tell the whole sad story about how this team is in disarray.

Consider:

+ The Bucks have lost four straight, seven of their last eight and 14 of 18.

+ The Bucks lost to an average Toronto team by 31 points.

+ They lost to a below-average Philadelphia team by 43 points.

+ They lost not once but twice to the putrid New York Knicks – and, on both occasions, they squandered 17-point leads.

+ They were absolutely annihilated in their two games against the Detroit Pistons: 114-69 (that’s a 45-point spanking) and 117-91 (a "mere’’ 26-point thrashing).

Do I believe Krystkowiak believes, in his heart of hearts, this team can magically turn it around? Not at all. Ron Paul has a better chance of heading to the White House than the Bucks have of rectifying their myriad problems.

I believe Krystkowiak now as much as I did when I asked him a couple of months ago why he suddenly scrapped using the triangle offense. Krystkowiak loves the triangle offense, having learned it from the master, Tex Winter.

In a couple of conversations after last season, I couldn’t help but sense the excitement in his voice when he talked about implementing the triangle offense and how it would benefit so many Bucks like Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd and Mo Williams.

The Bucks began using the triangle offense during the Las Vegas Summer League, and Krystkowiak continued to use it during training camp and in preseason games. He liked what he saw.

But then, poof, it was gone. Completely gone.

Why? Who really knows? Krystkowiak never gave any legit reason, stating only that it was a nice instructional tool for getting his players to share the ball.

Several players and other Bucks’ personnel contend it wasn’t Krystkowiak’s decision to abandon the triangle. In their minds, he was instructed to change the offense and that the mandate came from Bucks owner Herb Kohl.

But trashing the triangle offense is just the tip of the iceberg concerning the Bucks’ problems. This team, since it congregated for training camp, has never been on the same page.

In hindsight, management’s bungling of Charlie Bell’s contract negotiations over the summer had an adverse effect that snowballed over into the winter. Instead of immediately giving Bell an offer that was commensurate with his quality of play from last season, Bucks owner Herb Kohl and his negotiating team — which includes Ron Walter, the vice president-alternative governor, and Mike Burr, the chief financial officer — dragged its feet on a contract that should have been finalized relatively quickly.

Bell, a good person who doesn’t create waves, was so upset by the way he was treated that he sincerely didn’t want to play for the Bucks. His bitterness has since subsided but only after a series of sub-par performances.

But this wasn’t the first time the Bucks’ negotiating team has rankled someone over the years. I’ve had discussions with several former Bucks general managers, coaches and agents and they revealed their frustrations in how contractual matters were handled.

According to several NBA execs, the Bucks are believed to be one of only two teams in the NBA that negotiate trades, contracts, etc. by committee. The other is the Los Angeles Clippers. Need more be said?

Additionally, NBA folks have told me in recent weeks that Bucks general manager Larry Harris has been actively trying to swing a deal and that at least two of his proposed deals, including one involving New York Knicks power forward Zach Randolph, had been nixed by his superiors.

The scuttlebutt circulating the NBA is that Kohl is letting Harris, a lame-duck GM in the final year of his contract, hang out to dry, that Kohl is content to let Harris’ successor commence with the reconstruction of the team this summer.

And those are just some of the front office issues.

There are also profound issues with the coaches and players. Sparks have flown in the locker room on a couple occasions this season, including a heated, post-game exchange between point guard Mo Williams and assistant coach Tony Brown.

When I asked both Williams and Krystkowiak about the ugly incident, they claimed it never existed. But when I asked Brown — and some others in the Bucks’ organization — about the ordeal, they acknowledged it occurred.

Brown downplayed the locker-room blowup and he’s correct in doing so. Blowups aren’t unusual in professional sports. They happen even with good teams.

But the disturbing incident indicated the intense pressure that’s been placed on virtually everyone in the organization — from the GM to the coaches to the players — to produce.

There have been some other not-so-pleasant ‘debates’’ between the players and coaches. Even with the season more than half way over, issues pertaining to playing-time, rotations and the type of offense that should be run — whether it should be centered around Bogut, an exceptional passer for a big man, or it should be predicated on the perimeter shooting of Redd and Williams — have inexcusably yet to be resolved.

It’s been an especially difficult season for Redd, undisputably the Bucks’ best player. After playing with the U.S. Olympic Team over the summer, Redd reported to camp in the best shape, mentally and physically, of his career. He was primed for a banner season for himself and for his team.

But that obviously hasn’t occurred and his frustrations were never demonstrated more clearly than in a recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Redd, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, didn’t take one single shot in the entire first quarter. Nor did he make any serious attempt to take one. It marked the first time in his eight-year pro career that’s happened.

How the offense should be run, and the uncertainty regarding those other issues, have prompted some players to privately question Krystkowiak. They wonder whether he is simply too inexperienced for the situation.

Krystkowiak, in his first full season as an NBA head coach, conceded he has learned "a lot’’ already this season. He also admitted he would have done some things differently.

Yet, during this extremely trying time, Krystkowiak has maintained a fairly positive and confident outlook. At least, he has publicly.

But for Krystkowiak to believe his team, as currently constituted, can "fix’’ all their problems is a stretch. Anyone would have harbored the same sentiment if they would have been in the hallway of the Bradley Center after last Wednesday’s game. That’s when Bucks players and coaches seemingly couldn’t exit the facility fast enough.

Charlie Villanueva was probably in his car before most of the fans were. Bobby Simmons wasn’t far behind. Another member of the team, normally a congenial sort, refused to talk to me. His anger and disdain about the Bucks’ dire situation was clearly etched on his face.

So, while several teams have already made trades in recent weeks and with more trades to come, the Bucks brass appears resigned to let this already ugly season become uglier.