Salmons cooly accepts role as Bucks' missing piece

When the NBA's trade deadline comes around again, John Salmons would be wise to keep his eyes and ears open and his cell phone on. The Milwaukee Bucks' swingman has become a go-to-guy for teams searching for just the right piece to help with a playoff push.

The Bulls acquired him at the trade deadline last year in a deal with Sacramento, using his veteran savvy and underrated scoring punch to make their playoff push. That run ended with an epic first-round playoff series with Boston, where Salmons and Derrick Rose-led Bulls pushed the Celtics to Game 7 before falling.

The Bucks, in need of a similar boost two months ago, turned to Salmons and got similar results. The Bulls needed to clear salary cap space in the hopes of luring an elite free agent this summer and dealt Salmons within the division, a move that nearly cost them a playoff spot when their fortunes dipped after the trade and the Bucks took off.

Salmons has no complaints about the move -- not that he'd voice them if he did. Laid back doesn't fully capture Salmons' old school swagger, complete with the shaggy goatee hanging three inches below his chin.

He's been one of the few bright spots for the Bucks, down 2-0 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to the Hawks.

"No one had to define a role for me," Salmons said. "I knew this was a team that was on the cusp of making the playoffs, so I knew they had some talent. From playing against them I knew how hard they played. And from talking to some guys around the league, I heard that [Bucks coach Scott Skiles] was one of the best coaches around, so I was just trying to come and fit in."

The fit couldn't have been better. With rookie point guard Brandon Jennings settled in and center Andrew Bogut anchoring the post, the only thing missing was a perimeter threat with the size and ability to take on some of the scoring load and some of the leadership responsibilities for a team that had all the other pieces in place.

In addition, Salmons is a rugged defender with good size (6-foot-6 and 210 pounds) and a flinch-free competitor, traits that Skiles said were crucial when evaluating the move.

"When we were talking about making a move, we looked at him, and still do, as just a good, all-around pro guard," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "He can post up a little bit. He shoots the ball well enough. He can put it on the floor and get to the rim. He can dish it if necessary. He's a solid defender. He's a professional and has a real calm demeanor out there, and that has helped our guys."

Salmons made a seamless transition, doing all the same things for Bucks that he did for the Bulls, only better. He averaged 18.3 points in 26 games with the Bulls in their playoff push last year. He averaged 19.3 in the Bucks' 30-game playoff surge after the trade deadline.

"I felt like we found our other piece that we needed to help us win and also a guy that could take over a game and create his own shot for himself," Jennings said. "When Michael Redd went down we knew we needed somebody like that and John stepped in and did the job. I find myself telling people all the time that they better not sleep on John Salmons because once he gets it going, he can go off like any of the great [shooting guards] in the league."

Hawks coach Mike Woodson came into this series worried about exactly that. Salmons averaged 31 points against the Hawks in the three games during the season in a Bucks uniform. He worked them for 21 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, teaming with veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse to keep the undermanned Bucks in the game until the final minutes.

"When we went back and studied the games we had against them we realized that he basically matched [Hawks All-star] Joe [Johnson] step-for-step on defense and shot-for-shot," Woodson said. "He really had his way with us coming into the playoffs. So we came in focused on him in this series and knowing that if we let him get off he could make things difficult for us. We've had some guys really step up and take the challenge of trying to defend him and I think we've done a solid job, as a team, so far. But we have to keep that up in order to get out of this series."

Naturally, Salmons and the Bucks have other ideas as the series shifts to their home floor for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.

"We have to continue to go inside and continue to be aggressive," Salmons said. "We can't shy away from that against this team. We're not discouraged at all. We came out with the right energy and just came up short. But we feel like this thing is far from over. We're headed home now and we have a chance to do the same thing they did and take care of business on our home court."


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(nba.com)
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