The weeks and days leading up to the trade deadline involve so many rumors that it’s hard to keep track of what’s reality and what’s fiction.

That’s where I come in.

I’ve constructed a handy guide of the Bucks players most likely to be on the move.  I’ll fill you in on where they could be heading, what the Bucks are looking to get back and why it does or doesn’t make sense.

Luke Ridnour

Rumored Destinations: New York, Indiana, playoff teams?

Ridnour was one of the quiet first half surprises, the kind of guy who likely caught the eye of many scouts, but wasn’t necessarily making headlines in the news.  While Ridnour hasn’t been able to maintain the absurd hallowed 50/40/90 shooting percentages he had earlier in the year, he’s not far off at 48/40/92.  Add those numbers up with his “the little tough guy” demeanor and veteran know how and you have exactly the kind of backup point guard playoff teams covet.  On top of that, Ridnour has an expiring contract worth $6.5 million.

Ridnour’s name has been connected with the New York Knicks, who would presumably like to dump the two remaining years of Jared Jeffries on the Bucks as they match up perfectly with Ridnour.  The Bucks would probably want Jordan Hill to be included in any deal with the Knicks, as they don’t have a first round pick to make taking Jeffries otherwise worth the Bucks while.

The Indiana-Milwaukee rumors have been running wild as of late, with Troy Murphy being the reported apple of Milwaukee’s eye.  Ridnour would be one of the expiring contracts included in that deal and would serve as little more than a cap figure, as Indiana won’t be making a playoff run or keeping him past this season.

A number of playoff possible teams could use an upgrade at the backup point guard spot, Atlanta and Memphis come to mind, but they all lack the assets to matchup with Ridnour’s contract, so they’d need to involve a third team to get a deal done.  Atlanta does have a first round pick that would attract the Bucks. Read more…

The time has come for Joe Alexander. He’ll likely finally be getting his chance to earn some real playing time and be a featured option in the offense.  The only problem?  It’ll be for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA’s D-League.

From the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks have assigned second-year forward Joe Alexander to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana) of the NBA Development League (D-League), General Manager John Hammond announced today. Fort Wayne is led by Head Coach Joey Meyer, who previously coached the Bucks D-League affiliate in Tulsa. Alexander will meet with the team tomorrow and his first game with the Mad Ants will be Friday at Iowa.

“This is a good opportunity for Joe to receive regular minutes in real game action and continue his development as he returns from injury,” Hammond said. “We’re looking forward to seeing his progress as he works with Coach Meyer and his Fort Wayne teammates.”

I suggested that this was the most logical option for Alexander back in October before the had declined his option for next season.  My thinking was that would prevent this season from being a total loss for Alexander.  In the D-League, Alexander will get the chance to get some real playing time as a featured part of the offense the same way Ramon Sessions did once upon a time.  If he has success there, he could possibly make an impact down the road.

But at this point, that’s irrelevant for the Bucks.

It seems the Bucks just don’t want Alexander hanging around taking up space on the end of the bench, because his development is no longer of interest to the Milwaukee Bucks.  By not picking up his option after another injury setback this year for Alexander, the Bucks have made it clear he’s not apart of their future.  Despite labeling him a project coming out of college two years ago, the Bucks have seen something about Alexander that has made him toxic in their eyes.  The Bucks, a team that has the desperate need for any talent at all on the wings, sending a healthy, athletic player like Alexander to the D-League is a pretty strong sign that Alexander is persona-non-grata in that locker room.

Where Alexander could possibly still be useful to the franchise, is in his value to the rest of the league.  If Alexander heads down to the D-League, averages 20 points a night and grabs ten rebounds, he could look like an asset.  Given the number of expiring contracts the Bucks have, they already could theoretically be players at the trade deadline and Alexander could play a role then.  If a team is looking to shed cap space by dropping an okay younger player with two or three years left on a moderately priced deal, it’s possible they’d consider Alexander packaged with an expiring deal and toss a first round pick back at the Bucks for their trouble.  That’s all speculation at this point, but for Bucks fans the best Alexander can do for us going forward is have success in the D-League and turn himself into a viable asset in the next month.

It’s hard to even be concerned about a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on the road.  That talent disparity is too great and the road troubles too significant for the current version of the Milwaukee Bucks.

But it isn’t hard to be concerned about another knee injury to Michael Redd.

Either on his jump or on his landing on what looked to be a shot attempted but ended up as a pass in the second quarter, Redd went down and didn’t come back up.  The left knee is the same knee he tore his ACL and MCL in last January and gave him soreness earlier this year that required some time off.  Whether this is as serious as the latter or another patella strain remains to be seen, but it’s generally not a good sign when a player needs to be helped back to the locker room as Redd did. Read more…

It feels like I’m watching the same movie over and over.  I know what’s going to happen, I know who the good and bad guys are, the sub-plot never changes and the setting is always cold.  Only it’s more frustrating than a typical film, because before I ever started watching this gloomy presentation I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it.

Surprise has had nothing to do with the frustration the Bucks have left thousands of Bucks fans and I with during their current 4-13 stretch.  No, we all knew this team wasn’t exactly ready for primetime, despite being thrust into the spotlight after an 8-3 start propelled by Brandon Jennings better-than-expected debut.  A team comprised mainly of cap figures and future cast-offs rarely is able to keep its head above water in the NBA, much less thrive.

Yet, somehow I still don’t feel any better about things. Read more…

Everyone loves benchmarks, points of significance, times of reflection and all that good stuff.  After roughly a quarter of the season in the NBA things start to become a little more clear.  Nearly, if not every, team has played some kind of NBA like schedule at this point so we can all feel a little bit better about taking the collective temperature of our favorite teams.  The dust is settling and weaknesses, strengths, good players, bad players and everything else is juuust starting to become visible.  So let’s hand out some early season awards among the Milwaukee Bucks. Read more…