Hammond said he believes the Bucks roster has several assets on it, and is especially intrigued by the talent and potential of center Andrew Bogut and power forward Yi Jianlian.

Hammond has also publicly stated he likes the Bucks starting backcourt of point guard Mo Williams and shooting guard Michael Redd, whom he called a great player.

The one position Hammond said hell likely address, though, is small forward. Veterans Desmond Mason and Bobby Simmons manned that spot last season and produced modest results.

Ideally, the Bucks want a small forward who has a well-rounded game and doesnt have the limitations of Mason — no perimeter game — and Simmons — no interior game.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Not many expected rookie point guard Ramon Sessions to play much this season, much less set a franchise single-game assist record. But Sessions, an unheralded second-round pick, recorded 24 assists against the Bulls on April 14. Sessions eclipsed a record that had stood since Oct. 31, 1968. Thats when Guy Rodgers had 21 assists in the sixth game of the franchises history. Sessions 24 assists were also the most recorded in the NBA this season, surpassing Chris Pauls 21.

TURNING POINT: Heading into March, the Bucks were still in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Bucks had won three of their previous four games and seemed poised for a playoff run. Instead, they lost to the Nets 120-106 and proceeded to lose nine of their next 10 games and 12 of their next 14.

NOTES, QUOTES

—Kelvin Sampson, fired by Indiana University after NCAA violations were uncovered, was hired by the Bucks as an assistant coach.

—The Bucks got the eighth pick when the Draft Lottery was held May 20.

—Bucks coach Scott Skiles and Hammond will travel to China for the Summer Olympics. Skiles and Hammond said they wanted to show their support for the three Bucks who are expected to play in the Games: Yi Jianlian, wholl play for China, Andrew Bogut, wholl play for Australia, and Michael Redd, who is vying for a spot on the United States team.

—Since Hammond assumed the GM reins four weeks ago, he has fired 12 people in the Bucks organization. They included head coach Larry Krystkowiak and four assistant coaches: Brian James, Tony Brown, Jim Todd and Jarinn Akana.

Hammond has also dismissed two trainers — Andre Daniel and John Anderson — along with some members of the video department and secretarial staff.

Hammond has hired Marc Boff as head athletic trainer. Boff had been assistant athletic trainer for the Bulls.

QUOTE TO NOTE: During my time with Joe Dumars, we always said were going to be decisive with our decisions and react quickly. We have always done that. We did that with coaches. We did that with roster issues. So coming here, I had that same sort of mentality. I identified Scott as the person and moved forward with him and came to an agreement. We are very pleased to be able to get him. If you wait and wait, the market changes. Could we have hired Scott Skiles today? Maybe you could. Maybe you couldnt. But I feel the way we approached it was the right approach for us as an organization. — Bucks general manager John Hammond, on why he moved quickly to hire Scott Skiles as coach instead of waiting for more candidates to arise.

ROSTER REPORT

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Center Andrew Bogut took a significant step toward justifying the Bucks making him the No. 1 overall selection in the 2005 NBA draft. After registering 12 double-doubles as a rookie and then 19 double-doubles last year, the 23-year-old Bogut finished with 38 double-doubles this season.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: After he signed a lucrative six-year, $51 million contract last summer, big things were expected from Mo Williams. But while the point guard averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 assists, he was a sieve on defense and did a poor job of getting his teammates involved in the offense. Whats more, Williams had issues with some teammates and coaches, including a heated exchange with assistant coach Tony Brown.

FREE AGENT FOCUS: Every one of the Bucks regular starters — Mo Williams, Michael Redd, Desmond Mason, Yi Jianlian and Andrew Bogut — along with their top reserves — Charlie Villanueva, Desmond Mason and Charlie Bell — is under contract for next season. The only players who will become free agents — all unrestricted — on July 1 are Jake Voskuhl, Michael Ruffin and Royal Ivey. The Bucks have a team option on Awvee Storey.

Its unlikely the Bucks will make any concerted effort to retain any of those players as they are expected to make sweeping changes.

PLAYER NOTES:

—Bucks rookie G Ramon Sessions, who played well down the stretch, has been hanging around Milwaukee and working out almost daily at the teams training facility with assistant coach for player development Bill Peterson.

—Bucks G Mo Williams has undergone surgery to repair ligament damage on his right hand. Williams is expected to be fully recovered by the start of training camp in October. The surgery was performed by hand specialist Michelle Carlson, M.D., at a hospital in New York.

—Bucks C Andrew Bogut will be flying around the world this summer. Since the end of the regular season, Bogut has flown to Croatia and then to Australia. He intends on returning to Milwaukee soon and then goi...