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Bucks fans remember the heartbreakers

To answer a lot of Bucks fans: No, Shawn Respert is not in the league anymore. Steve Simoneau/Allsport

Ahhhh, yes ... And who can forget about the Mike Dunleavy decision to draft Shawn Respert. Us Wisconsinites had watched Michael Finley tear apart the Big Ten four consecutive years. There was no doubt of Finley's talents. How could Dunleavy overlook Finley who was playing in his backyard?

It would have been a no-brainer to draft Finley. But Dunleavy drafted Respert, a 6-foot-0 shooting guard. By the way, where is he now? I will never get over that one! My heart still hurts everytime I hear Finley's name.
Elijah Jones, Milwaukee, Wis.

I have a few other palyers who were passed on in the draft that still hurts today. Passing up Grant Hill for Glenn Robinson in 1994. Glenn had just had an excellent year at Purdue, so I know why they did it, but I knew Grant Hill would be the better player. I can't really complain about that too much. The one that really hurts is in 1995. We passed up Micheal Finley for the undersized, overrated Shawn Respert. Finley played at Wisconsin, and had a good career. His senior year, they had no big man, and had lost their all conference point gaurd. Finley's numbers went down, but everyone who had saw him the year before, and that year knew at 6-foot-6, he was ready to be at the very least a good NBA shooting gaurd, if not an All-Star caliber gaurd. To this day, I hate Mike Dunleavey, who I know was big on Shawn Respert at the time. Is Shawn respert even in the league anymore?
Jermaine Pose, Minneapolis, Minn.

I was born and raised in suburban Milwaukee and I remember the Jabbar fiasco vividly. I remember being very angry at Jabbar for his selfishness. He demanded a trade, preferably to a major East or West Coast team, for both the exposure and, supposedly, because the city of Milwaukee was lacking in its support for Islam (he recently converted). The Bucks management had no choice but to trade him as he was destroying the team from within. In the short term, it was OK for the Bucks, as Keith Meyers and friends played integral parts on the team, but as history has shown, you do not replace one of the all-time greats with a series of role players.

Maybe I need to loosen up, but I still have not forgiven Jabbar for his selfishness and attitude during this stretch. It makes me sick that athletes seemingly hold all the cards. And things have just gotten worse over the years as professional sports are rotting from within. It's no accident that attendance and TV ratings are down. Sure, excuses are made, but the fact remains that the fans are finally sick of all the shenanigans, holdouts and strikes. I know I certainly am.
Mark Wagner, Mabelvale, Ark.

I'm sure to have nightmares after reading the nice thick list of the Buck's goof-ups. It brings a tear to the eye thinking what could of been with Oscar, Kareem and Dr J., then what became of Porter, Dirk, Pierce. I remember going to the season opener in Traylor's first season ... who was hyped to be the one to carry the Bucks. Then I remember as the games progressed, the crowd still cheered vibrantly for him, we all hoped he would emerge as the superstar he was suppose to be soon. The next season the fans started off with the same optimism, but by the end of the season we all knew he was a disappointment, though some diehards still hoped he'd fill out ... or what he should of been doing -- thining out.
Steve, Mequon, Wis.

While the Bucks eventually made up for it by trading Stephon Marbury for Ray Allen, their disasters with guards in the early '90s is scary. They draft Voshon Lenard , who decides to go back to Minnesota, Shawn Respert , who was two slow for point and too short for shooting guard, Eric Murdock , who was basically a head case, Sherm Douglas, who was well past his prime, and Terrell Brandon, who wanted out of Milwaukee from Day One. But worst of all has to be the year they had three first-round picks and came a way with Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, and Eric Mobley. Unfortunately for the Bucks the Arkansas "May-Day" connection just didn't work out. Luckily they work able to get Same Cassell and Ray Allen together to start a run to the playoffs.
Brian Anderson, Shorewood, Wis.

The transaction that broke my heart was when the Milwaukee Bucks traded Joe Wolf to the Denver Nuggets for Ervin Johnson. It was very dissapointing to see one of Wisconsin's few NBA players traded away from the Bucks. And to whom it may concern, Joe is now assistant coaching with his brother Jeff at Kohler High School
Jim Kultgen, Kohler, Wis.

When the Milwaukee Bucks traded Vin Baker, it broke my heart. If he had stayed in Milwaukee he may never have gone through the problems he did. It ended up that all we have on our roster for him is a tweener in Tim Thomas. Not that he's a bad player, but look a scenario the Bucks could have had. Have Baker and Big Dog, never have traded away Marbury for Allen on draft night and draft Paul Pierce over Robert Traylor three years ago, and you have a wonderful team. All we'd have to do is wait on Joel Pryzbilla. But now we also need a '4' as well, and have a lesser point than we could have.
Jason Sleik, Seymour, Wis.