The Milwaukee Bucks have traded Mo Williams to the division rival Cleveland Cavaliers in a three team trade also involving the team in Oklahoma City. The Bucks traded Desmond Mason to Oklahoma City who also acquired forward Joe Smith from the Cavaliers. The Bucks acquired guards Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City and guard Damon Jones from the Cavs. This was purely a salary dump for the Bucks as the two best players in the trade were the ones they moved. Williams played in 66 games (all starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Williams played 4 years in Milwaukee covering 272 games (226 starts) in which he averaged 31.9 minutes, 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Desmond Mason played in 59 games (56 starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
The Bucks are hoping that 2nd year point guard Ramon Sessions is ready to start in Williams’ place. If not, Luke Ridnour would probably step in. The 26-year old Ridnour played in 61 games (5 starts) for the Sonics last season and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Ridnour’s biggest asset is that he’s a good long range shooter and the Bucks will likely take advantage of that skill when he’s on the floor. Ridnour has now played in 362 games (228 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.6 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. 34-year old Adrian Griffin has the reputation of being a good defender off of the bench and the Bucks can definately use that. Griffin played in 35 games (2 starts) last season for the Sonics and Bulls and he averaged 8.8 minutes, 1.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Don’t look for him to get more than 10-15 minutes per night in 2008-09 for the Bucks. Griffin has now played in 477 games (179 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. 31-year old guard Damon Jones likes to say that he’s the “best shooter in the world” even though his stats don’t prove that out. Jones played in 67 games (3 starts) for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Look for Jones to be the three point assassin off the bench for the Bucks this season as he hit 41.7% from that range last season for the Cavs. Jones has now played in 639 games (114 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.9 minutes, 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. This was a flat out awful trade for the Bucks. Making the Cavaliers stronger was a very stupid move for the Bucks.
