Even Sen. Herb Kohl, whose Bucks have reverted to their perennially-underachieving ways of the 1990s, tried to lure Hammond away from his position as the Detroit Pistons' vice president of basketball operations.
So why, then, did the 53-year-old leave a Detroit organization that has annually been on of the Eastern Conference's best teams to come to Milwaukee, where ping-pong balls have outnumbered playoff victories for the past seven years?
"(It was) the right time and the right place for me," Hammond said. "I also think this team can win."
It will be Hammonds task to provide leadership to a franchise that's made the playoffs just twice since George Karl was fired following the 2003 season (losing both times to Detroit, 4-1).
When Harris and the Bucks parted ways last month, names like Donnie Walsh and Doug Collins were among the first to surface as candidates. Walsh left his post with the Indiana Pacers to take over the woeful New York Knicks while Collins has a fairly good deal as an analyst with TNT.
The Bucks then set their sights on Hammond, who had spent seven years working with Pistons' general manager Joe Dumars. Their Detroit teams have won 50 games or more for seven straight seasons, a stretch which also includes two trips to the NBA Finals, a world championship in 2004, and four consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The weight of those credentials wasn't lost on Desmond Mason, who earlier in the week said that the organization was in need of stability after a tumultuous period in which the Bucks went through three coaches in five years and saw regular turnover in the locker room.
"For us, the main thing is getting the players here that you want to build chemistry with for the long-term," Mason said. "It's been an ongoing recycling process with coaches and players. The Senator is bringing someone that comes from an organization that's known for their stability and known for their winning.
"That's the key to getting us in the right direction."
In the end, it was Hammond who possessed the qualities that Kohl thought are essential to restoring luster to the franchise. The Bucks moved quickly with Hammond; he had his first interview last Tuesday and officials met with him a second time on Thursday before reaching agreement Friday.
"We cast our net somewhat far and wide because we wanted to make the best decision we could," Kohl said. "When we met John Hammond and conversed with him, there was a quick feeling on the part of myself, John Steinmiller, Ron Walter and Mike Burr that this was the man for us."
His first order of business, though, will be to decide what to do with head coach Larry Krystkowiak. Hammond will have three more opportunities to watch him work in game situations before sitting down and making a thorough evaluation.
No sooner did word leak out that Hammond took the job did speculation build about the possibility of hiring former Detroit and Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle. Hammond, for now, didn't tip his hand.
"I know Larry, I know a lot of people who know Larry," Hammond said. "There aren't better people than Larry Krystkowiak."
Krystkowiak has one year left on his contract, but Hammond isn't ready to make any decisions.
Hammond will have his work cut out for him when it comes to reshaping the roster. His predecessor, Larry Harris, left little cap room and a lot of -- in hindsight -- poor contracts.
With the Pistons and Bucks both members of the Central Division, Hammond has had plenty of opportunity to see what the team has in terms of personnel.
"I think we're going to explore every possibility that we can to improve this roster," Hammond said. "There are pieces that you have here intact now that we can win with."
Third-year center Andrew Bogut has been, at times, outspoken in his assessment of the team's fortunes. The fact that Hammond comes from an organization with a proven track record and a championship pedigree doesn't necessarily guarantee similar success.
"It's going to be exciting times, obviously," Bogut said. "At the same time, we've had optimistic signs for the last three years. Things need to be implemented and he obviously knows a lot about basketball from what I hear so I think he'll come in and do a good job.
"At the same time, signing a name or a certain person doesn't matter these days. I think we need to come in and make an impact and I think he definitely can do that."
The Detroit teams Hammond helped assemble were well-known for their defensive performances, an area in which the Bucks have lacked this season, especially. It's also an area that Hammond wants to put an emphasis on from the get-go.
"We've to become better defensively, we've got to become a better defensive team, we've got to become a better rebounding team. We've got to have an overall tougher attitude, a tougher core."
That the Pistons were able to achieve such success under Hammond's and Dumars' watch is even more impressive considering the lack of maximum contracts on the Detroit roster during that time. It could also provide a glimpse into the future for the Bucks, who have doled out big money to starting guards Michael Redd and Mo Williams.
Hammond supported the decision to deal Jerry Stackhouse to Washington in the summer of 2002. The deal was unpopular in Detroit at the time, but landed the Pistons a young Rip Hamilton, who would be a core member of the Pistons' recent championship teams.
"Sometimes you have to make unpopular moves," Hammond said. "That may be something we face at some point here. We may make a move that people might question at times, a move that people may not agree with. They may think it's the wrong thing and it might be considered unpopular, but we might have to do that.
"Maybe it will happen sooner than later, I don't know how it's going to work out yet."
Hammond attended the Bucks 111-98 loss to New Jersey Saturday night and will also be at the Bradley Center Monday night when the Bulls come to town before traveling with the team to Minnesota for the season finale Wednesday night.
It won't be a lot of time to get up close and personal with the roster, which will probably undergo extensive overhaul in the next few months, but Hammond knows the type of personnel the Bucks have and the type he wants to bring into the organization.
"Whether it be the coach, whether it be the players, that's what were looking for. We want good people who are going to work real hard. If have those kind of people, good things are going to happen."
