Catching up with John Salmons

The Chicago Bulls finished with the best record in the NBA this past season; a product of their coaching upgrade from Vinny Del Negro to Tom Thibodeau; as well as the major roster overhaul they made over the course of the past year and a half.

But as they've succeeded so have ex-Bulls John Salmons and James Johnson.

The Milwaukee Bucks acquired John Salmons from Chicago on 2/18/10, and he was re-signed last summer. He had a Bucks team high 32 points Saturday versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, going from 14-18 from the field. He followed that up with a 24 point, 9-14 shooting, 7 rebound performance in the Bucks home finale. After last year's breakthrough season in Milwaukee, the Bucks took a big step backward, and failed to reach the postseason.

"We've had go fan support all year. It's just disappointing given the atmosphere we had last year in the playoffs, and the buzz we had throughout the season. But we'll try to work hard to come back next year," he said that evening.

The Bucks had sky-high preseason expectations.

"At the beginning of the season, some people had us picked above the Bulls, we had a lot of expectations and to me it just feels like a failure of a season, just couldn't get it together, it's disappointing all around," Salmons continued.

Salmons suffered a knee injury in training camp, Corey Magette was hurt, and injuries were pervasive in Milwaukee right from the start.
"It was tough, we were behind the 8 ball all year from the beginning," he stated. But there is some hope for next year.

"It's not like the talent is going anywhere, it's just up to us, to make it work and put it all together"



(chicagonow.com)