An open e-mail sent to Larry Harris, general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, on 2/15/07.
Dear Mr. Harris,
I’m sure you have about 1,382 e-mails in your inbox right now begging you to fire Coach Terry Stotts. This is not one of those mindless requests. I’m writing you as a life long fan with a genuine interest in the direction of the franchise.
I’ve been an avid Bucks fan my entire life. I remember attending games at the MECCA in the 80’s as a young man. I got my very first iron knuckled back hand from my mother at a game, for screaming at Sidney Moncrief to “get Terry Cummings the damn ball!” I also received a memorable civics lesson from my Grandfather in the first year of the Bradley Center when I threw my nacho cheese cup and pretzel wrapper on the ground under my seat. He made every person in the row stand up and had me clean all the garbage out from under their seats, stating “this is a public building, YOUR building, the home to YOUR team, don’t ever disgrace your home or your team like that”. Dually noted, Grandpa.
I’ve essentially followed the Bucks my entire life, and for the first time since the early 90’s, have found myself becoming frustrated and even disappointed with the teams direction and overall gamesmanship. I won’t pretend that I have a clue about what goes on behind the scenes within the organization. I’m not one of those arrogant fans that thinks I know exactly what is making the franchise tick. The one thing that I do know is that the product being displayed on the court, and being broadcast into the homes of the teams loyal followers is not reflective of the talent that is putting on the jerseys. I see no reason that this team should not be competing for one of the top spots in a weak Eastern Conference. This team has all the elements that George Karl used en route to a near Finals appearance, with the addition of a defensive minded stopper in Rueben Patterson. I’m also not one of those blind sighted fans that thinks their team should “win it all” ever year. I’m not putting the Bucks in the class of a Phoenix or Dallas, but the talent level is far beyond what the W-L column projects.
I will admit to you, Mr. Harris, I did not like it when they hired you. I thought Ernie Grunfeld was an excellent GM and was a huge reason for the success of the franchise while he was here. He is proving himself again in Washington. I thought you were too young, had no experience, no clue about managing an NBA team, and I didn’t like your haircut. I thought you would surely be the demise of the team I’ve followed since I can remember. I can freely state that I could not have been more wrong. You have assembled, in my opinion, one of the most talent laden teams Milwaukee has ever seen. You have made shrewd moves via both trades and in free agency. You have brought an image, a swagger, and a style to a franchise that, even when competitive, really had none. I applaud both you, and the job you have done for this franchise. That is why I am very confident that you know exactly what must be done in order to get this team to where it should be. It is clearly evident that a change in floor leadership is necessary.
I’m not going to coldly beg for Coach Stotts to be “fired." He’s an extremely nice guy and a great person in the community. I have personally met him on several occasions as my brother-in-law has worked for him and his wife, Jan, since he was in his first go-round in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, just being a nice guy isn’t going to put trophies in the case or hang banners from the rafters. If that’s all it took, I’d own a franchise and have more rings than the Celtics, I’m one hell of a nice guy. This team simply just needs someone else to lead them. It’s as obvious as Greg Oden’s 5-o’clock shadow.
I thank you for your time in reading this, and am confident that you will make the necessary moves in order to right the Bucks fledging ship. Please just continue doing what you’ve done since you got here and I’m sure one day this fine city will be able to again enjoy great professional basketball here in Milwaukee, and maybe even a championship.
Sincerely,
Andy Stanislaw is a Wauwatosa resident and can be reached at stanislaw8779@yahoo.com.
