The Bucks have made a trade. Details have not been finalized and the two players the Bucks give up could end up being HakimWarrick and Joe Alexander, but here was the initial report.

From ESPN TrueHoop:

The Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks were nearing completion of the John Salmons trade Thursday morning. However, although the early word last night was that the Bucks would send Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson to the Bulls, sources close to the process told ESPN.com this morning that there is a “90 percent chance” Milwaukee sends Chicago Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick instead.

JSOnline is reporting it is indeed Warrick and Alexander.

The financial implications are as such:  The combined salaries of Warrick and Alexander ($5,583,360) leave the Bucks on the hook for just $253,646 additional dollars in salary this year, as Salmons contracted called for $6,421,151 (Salmons’ deal – combined money going out, divided by the remaining games left is the math there).

Salmons will have one year left on his contract after this season at 5,808,000, while the now former Bucks Warrick and Alexander are expiring contracts.

***All salary information from ShamSports.com

So.

Many.

Rumors.

I know no one can get enough, so I thought I’d try and keep updating this post to do my best to keep everything together for the next day or so.

• That rumor about Kurt Thomas to the Hawks?  Just a rumor according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.  I was suspicious of it right away, as Mo Evans didn’t seem an uber-logical fit with the Bucks.  And that was before the AJC alerted me that he has a $2.5 million player option next year.

• Yahoo! Sports notes that the Bucks have had some interest in Al Harrington.  This was reported at 3 AM CST, and that sounds like the kind of thing a GM would think only at 3 AM.

• Chris Broussard reports that the Nuggets contacted Milwaukee about Hakim Warrick and (here’s a shocker … but not really) Kurt Thomas, but talks didn’t go far after the Nuggets revealed that they have nothing to offer for anyone.

• Chad Ford wrote that the Bucks have interest in Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas and may be interested in a shooting guard as well.  John Salmons is on the hook for 5,808,000 next season while Thomas is a restricted free agent with a $6,256,806 qualifying offer.  Those two could be successfully traded for any of the packages the Bucks have looked at with regard to Troy Murphy.

UPDATE

• Drew Gooden? Gooden will reportedly be bought out by the Clippers after his arrival from Washington, freeing him up to pursue other options.  His number one (or one A) option supposedly is the Bucks.  Milwaukee may present an intriguing option for Gooden in the same way it did for Warrick this past off-season: more playing time and more points than others can provide.

• Salmons to the Bucks for Thomas and Francisco Elson?  It’s floating around, though Thomas is playing in Wednesday’s game.  If that deal went through it would open a roster spot for Drew Gooden.

UPDATE

• Mike Dunleavy (Clippers GM not Pacers SG) told the Los Angeles Daily News it is not the Clippers intention to buyout Gooden.  Thus, if the Bucks wanted Gooden they’d have to make a deal with the Clippers, which seems unlikely given the time constraints.

It’s worth noting what teams do NOT have a first round pick in this June’s draft:

L.A. Lakers
Denver Nuggets
Dallas Mavericks
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors (unless it’s in the lottery)
Charlotte Bobcats (unless it’s in the lottery)
New York Knicks

Expiring contracts – noun

1. The end of an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified.

2. NBA Fools Gold.

Expiring contracts are all the rage at the trade deadline.  Teams like the Dallas Mavericks can dump a handful of Josh Howard’s and Drew Gooden’s on teams like the Washington Wizards and walk away with two possible puzzle pieces that fit nicely into their future.  After a deal like that, every team’s fan base scans the current situation in the NBA and says, “hey, if they can do it, we can do it.  We might be able to get an impact guy for nothing.”

But no, your favorite team probably can’t do it and would be wise to avoid trying, because something for nothing doesn’t exist.  It never has and it never will, especially in the NBA and especially in smaller markets.

And as long as I’m throwing the word especially out there left and right … Especially in the case of the Milwaukee Bucks. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 24-27

vs.

Houston Rockets (Rick Adelman) 27-25

Date: 2/17/2010

Time: 7:00 PM (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Matchups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Aaron Brooks

Brooks was getting a little bit of buzz as a potential all-star, but that probably had more to do with his team’s surprising record that his all-star like play.  In fact, I’d argue that while Jennings hasn’t shot the ball very well this year, he’s having a better season than Brooks in most regards.  Jennings has a better assist rate (30.9-23.8) and lower turnover rate (12.6-13.8) while using more possessions (26.9-25.6).  Both have limitations defensively, but Jennings has a better overall defensive rating as well.  What really favors Jennings is that he plays a lot of his minutes with Delfino, Mbah a Moute and Bogut, or the Bucks three best defenders.  Brooks limitations are similarly kept in check with Battier, Hayes and Ariza often surrounding him.  As I write this I get the feeling that these teams are much more similar than I realized before, with a few noticeable exceptions.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…