The future of the Bucks

Once again the Milwaukee Bucks have made a move or two at the NBA's trading deadline. In two separte moves, the Bucks put themselves about $13 million under the NBA's salary cap, got two extra draft picks, a promising young player, and lost their fourth leading scorer.

In the first move the Bucks dealt backup point guard Mike James, and seldom used center Zendon Hamilton to the Houston Rockets for two second round draft picks and Madison native Reece Gaines.

I am not at all surprised that James was moved, I kind of expected it. His value was rising with recent 20 plus point games, he can play defense and he has playoff experience and won a ring with the Pistons last year. This is a great move for the Rockets. They have had issues at point guard and now they have a quality backup for Bobby Sura.

By making this move the Bucks gave themselves insurance. Gaines can play the point or two guard thus giving them insurance at the point guard spot if TJ Ford never plays again, or at shooting guard if Michael Redd leaves town this summer. I really like Reece Gaines. I was extremely high on him coming out of college. I was at the Milwaukee Bucks draft in 2003 covering it for a radio station and I thought the Bucks should have drafted Gaines then. I openly discussed this with a few other media members and a few agreed with me. I was proven wrong by TJ Ford, he was incredible for the short time the Bucks had him, while Gaines struggled in Orlando.

I still think Gaines can be a player in this league, he just needs some playing time, which he will get plenty of in Milwaukee. I am really excited about seeing what Reece Gaines can do and look forward to watching him play out this season.

The other deal the Bucks made sent Keith Van Horn to Dallas for Calvin Booth, Alan Henderson and cash. This was a money deal. Alan Henderson's contract expires this summer and he will not be resigned. Calvin Booth can contribute 5-10 good minutes a night, but don't expect much else from him. By moving Van Horn, getting the cash form the Mav's and not resignig Henderson the Bucks give themselves quite a bit of cap relief this summer.

I'm a bit sad to see Van Horn go. I was happy when they made the deal for him last year, and thought he would be the perfect complement to Redd. But for some reason or another, things just didn't seem to work out for Van Horn here, much like his other three stops in the NBA. Dallas will be a perfect fit for him though. Not much will be expected of him and he will be the third or fourth option on that team.

All of this brings us to the question of the day, will Michael Redd resign with the Bucks? I know an article in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal said that Michael Redd has indicated that he will resign with the team this summer, but I won't believe it until I see it.

If you're Michael Redd, one of the prize free agents of the upcoming summer, Cleveland and King James want you, many other teams will court you and offer you similar money to what the Bucks are willing to give you. Why do you want to return to Milwaukee? Why? He is a loyal guy and has said he would like to end his career with one team, but as a career move it's probably not the right one.

Would you pass up playing alongisde the next great player, and that may be an understatement, in the league-LeBron James? Think of potential championships you could win or endorsements you could get. Oh yeah I forgot the Cavs are your hometown team. That may be strike three and Redd is out.

In fairness look at it from the Bucks end, why would he choose to return here. He is a loyal guy and likes it in Milwaukee. The Bucks can offer him more money than any other team. He wouldn't have to readjust to a new team and teammates, and in Cleveland's case he wouldn't have to deal with being the hometown guy. But other than that he would be returning to a team without Van Horn, James and probably Ford. He would be palying with a young guard still learning how to play-Reece Gaines-and you don't know how much longer Joe Smith or Toni Kukoc will be around. Plus you don't know how much depth you have on the team and once again you would be expected to carry the load.

In terms of a pure basketball decision, why would you want to return to that team? As I said earlier the Bucks now have about $13 million in cap room, so you're initial thought is they can resign Redd and add guys around him with that money. Not so fast. $13 million is not a lot of money in terms of NBA cap. Realize this, Micheal Redd will probably get about $8-10 million of that, maybe even more. What does that leave you with to use on surrounding players? Not much.

The reality is this, if Redd returns he does so knowing this team is rebuilding and won't compete for two or three years. They are going to heavily rely on young guys like Pachulia and Gaines, and give their record so far they should have a good draft pick and another young player who will get a lot of playing time. Does he want to win alongside a great player, or does he want to help build up his team? Judge for yourself, but I've got my mind made up.