Former Milwaukee point guard Sam Cassell said the effectiveness of the Bucks deteriorated during George Karl's tenure for a variety of reasons.

In an interview aired Tuesday evening on Steve True's WISN-AM radio talk show, Cassell mentioned the trade of Scott Williams, the unsuitable insertion of Anthony Mason's game into the team mix and Karl's unwise strategy of regularly calling out guard Ray Allen in the press as reasons why the Bucks failed to flourish in the last three National Basketball Association seasons.

"He's one of the top five coaches," Cassell said when asked if he thought Karl would coach again in the NBA. "When I first got to Milwaukee, George Karl was brilliant. I had so much respect for the guy. How he could draw up plays within 20 seconds, workable plays. Then days went past and his relationship with the players, it didn't get bad, it just wasn't like it used to be. I think that's what we were looking for. My first two years in Milwaukee, the relationship George Karl had with Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and myself was brilliant. The next three years it just went downhill from there."