The Bucks have acquired 30-year old SG/SF Corey Maggette and the 44th overall pick (2nd round) in the NBA Draft Thursday Night from the Golden State Warriors for 31-year old SG Charlie Bell and 32-year old C Dan Gadzuric. Maggette played in 70 games (49 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 29.7 minutes, 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He has now played in 710 games (432 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Maggette will give the Bucks another weapon on offense which they so sorely need. Charlie Bell played in 71 games (39 starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Dan Gadzuric played in 32 games (6 starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 9.8 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The Bucks’ GM probably had a ski mask on when he made this trade as he stole Maggette from the Warriors.

The Bucks have signed 24-year old power forward Darnell Jackson. Jackson played in 27 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers last season in which he averaged 4.2 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He has now played in 78 games (2 starts) in his two years in the NBA in which he is averaging 7.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Jackson will provide the Bucks with some muscle off the bench if they need it.

The Bucks have traded 22-year old SG Jodie Meeks and 33-year old center Francisco Elson to the 76ers for 28-year old guard Royal Ivey, 30-year old center Primoz Brezec and a 2nd round pick. Meeks played in 41 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Bucks this season and he averaged 11.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Francisco Elson played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he was averaging 5.6 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

Royal Ivey has played in 26 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this season and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 360 games (109 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 13.5 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Brezec only played in 7 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this year and he was averaging 5.1 minutes, 0.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He has now played in 328 games (214 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.7 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

To be truthfully honest about this trade it probably doesn’t help either team.

The Bucks have acquired 30-year old SG/SF John Salmons from the rival Chicago Bulls for 27-year old forward Hakim Warrick and 23-year old forward Joe Alexander . Salmons has played in 51 games (28 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 33.2 minutes, 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Salmons has now played in 571 games (219 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.3 minutes, 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Warrick played in 48 games (6 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 21.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Joe Alexander has not played this season for the Bucks. He played in 59 games (0 starts) last year as a rookie and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. This was a solid trade for the Bucks as Salmons is the best player involved in this deal.

The Bucks have signed 35-year old shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse to a contract through the end of the year. He played in 10 games (1 start) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Stackhouse has now played in 854 games (563 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.4 minutes, 18.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He is on the downside of his career but this was the type of signing that playoff teams make.

The Bucks have waived 25-year old point guard Roko Ukic who requested it due to his lack of playing time this season. Ukic played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 7.5 minutes, 3.1 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. This will be no loss for the Bucks as Ukic just wasn’t that good of a player.

The Bucks decided not to match the 4-year, $16.4 million dollar offer sheet that the Timberwolves signed him to.  Sessions played in 79 games (39 starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 12.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  In his two years with the Bucks, Sessions played in 96 games (46 starts) in which he averaged 27.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  This is a big loss for the Bucks as Sessions was developing into quite a playmaker.

The Milwaukee Bucks are really going on the cheap this season as they will likely field one of the worst teams in the NBA for the 2009-2010 NBA season. The Bucks allowed starting power forward Charlie Villanueva leave in free agency to sign with the division rival Detroit Pistons. They also traded starting small forward Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for Kurt Thomas and two players they have since cut in SF Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto. The best player the Bucks got in any on their trades this off-season was Amir Johnson who they turned around and traded to the Raptors. Sonny Weems was another player they only had for a little bit before shipping him out to another team. Finally, the Bucks traded backup power forward Malik Allen to the Nuggets. The Bucks even reached in the NBA Draft selecting PF Brandon Jennings and SG Jodie Meeks who will both likely need some time before they are ready to compete at the NBA level. Small forward Hakim Warrick was brought in as a free agent and he will get the first shot to replace Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup. He has a untapped upside and if the Bucks give him big minutes he could excel. PF Kurt Thomas will provide some leadership and toughness off the bench for the Bucks this season. SG/SF Carlos Delfino is back from Russia and he could give the Bucks some solid minutes this season. PG Roko Ukic was brought over in the same trade as Delfino and he will likely compete for the starting point guard job assuming that Ramon Sessions leaves as a free agent. Ervan Ilyasova is back from Europe and forward Walter Sharpe was brought over in a trade. The Bucks hope they can both give them some minutes off the bench.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE FOR THIS OFF-SEASON SO FAR: F

The Bucks have acquired 26-year old shooting guard Carlos Delfino and 24-year old point guard Roko Ukic from the Raptors for 22-year old power forward Amir Johnson and 23-year old guard Sonny Weems. Delfino played overseas last season. He last played in the NBA in 2007-08 for the Raptors. That season he played in 82 games (0 starts) in which he averaged 23.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He has now played in 4 seasons in the NBA appearing in 262 games (6 starts) in which he has averaged 17.1 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Roko Ukic played in 72 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he averaged 12.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.1 assists per game. Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems never played for the Bucks after coming over to them in prior trades. Although I think Amir Johnson will eventually be the best player in this trade by far, the Bucks needed players that could help them right now and Delfino and Ukic should help.

The Bucks have released 38-year old small forward Bruce Bowen and shooting guard Salim Stoudamire. Bowen played in 80 games (10 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 18.9 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Bowen came over in the Richard Jefferson trade with the Spurs and the Bucks should have kept him around to teach the younger players what it takes to win in the NBA. Stoudamire did not play in the NBA last season. He has played in 157 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.0 minutes, 8.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. Once again the Bucks get rid of a couple of players who could have helped them some during the 2009-2010 NBA season.