Bucks use drafts to overhaul rosters
For the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Bucks overhauled their roster on Draft Night.
The Bucks traded veterans John Salmons and Corey Maggette in a three-team deal, and received veteran shooting guard Stephen Jackson and two other players while keeping their two draft choices. The Bucks sent Salmons and the 10th pick in last night’s draft to Sacramento, and they dealt Maggette to Charlotte. The Bucks received Jackson and guard Shaun Livingston from the Bobcats, along with the 19th pick – which they used to take freshman forward Tobias Harris of Tennessee. And the Bucks used their second pick to take Wisconsin’s best player from last season, forward Jon Leuer with the 40th selection.
Milwaukee also received point guard Beno Udrih from Sacramento. The Kings used the 10th pick to take BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette – who refused to audition for the Bucks because he apparently didn’t want to be a backup behind Brandon Jennings. And Charlotte got Sacramento’s number-seven pick. Bucks’ general manager John Hammond said he did not expect to make such a major trade, but it took shape in the past couple days.
For Milwaukee, the key player is Stephen Jackson, who averaged almost 19 points a game for Charlotte last season. Milwaukee is his third team in three years, after being with Golden State. And ESPN said Jackson was not happy about having to move again. But Bucks’ general manager John Hammond said he’d smooth that over. And coach Scott Skiles said Jackson did not seem too upset when the two talked yesterday. The Bucks were the NBA’s lowest-scoring team last season. Skiles said it was because of an inability to make passes – and Jackson should help fix that. The Bucks expect Udrih, a six-year NBA veteran, to be similar to former backup point guard Luke Ridnour. He averaged almost 14 points last season. Livingston averaged almost seven points in a back-up role. And Harris was the draft’s youngest player at 18. Hammond said it was important that the Bucks stay in the first round, and they did. Salmons, a major player in the Bucks’ playoff run two seasons ago, cooled off last season and averaged around 14 points after being injured early in the season. He returns to Sacramento, where he played from 2006-to-’09.














