Trade Talk

The Milwaukee Bucks were involved in another trade on Wednesday, this time with the New Jersey Nets. The Bucks received Chris Douglas-Roberts, and they only had to give up a 2012 second round pick. What are the Nets thinking? Well, they're trying their hardest to be broke so that they can spend, spend, spend when July 1 comes around. For the Bucks, this is a great deal! Douglas-Roberts is young and talented, a good scorer, and has a ton of room to grow. The Nets are expecting to be able to land at least one key free agent (although they will likely pay way too much money for him), and even Douglas-Roberts' $850,000 contract was too much to keep on the books. Overall, the Bucks got the better of this trade currently. Douglas-Roberts is easily better than any second round pick in the future. However, if the Nets land LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, or Chris Bosh, I would change my stance on this move. So basically, I'm not ever changing my stance. Hopefully the Nets will enjoy their mediocrity with an overpaid Joe Johnson or Ray Allen if they can even obtain one of them.

In a deal that really makes sense for one team in particular, the Miami Heat traded the 18th pick in tonight's draft and Daequan Cook to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 32nd pick in tonight's draft. The Thunder wanted a shooter that could create space on the floor, and the Heat wanted to clear contracts in order to be able to spend more in free agency. Also, the Heat will not have any guaranteed money owed to the 18th pick because of this trade. This was purely a financial move for Miami and a good one at that.

The Portland Trailblazers are reportedly shopping Rudy Fernandez. After falling out of favor in Portland, Fernandez has been requesting a trade for some time now. The Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, and Chicago Bulls have expressed the most interest. The Raptors offered the 13th pick in tonight's draft as a part of a package deal, and Chicago offered the 17th pick as part of their package. No deal has been accepted so far.

The Los Angeles Lakers have entered the mix of suitors for the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul. Andrew Bynum, Sasha Vujacic, and Lamar Odom would move to New Orleans, and Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor would join the Lakers. That would be a formidable starting lineup in Paul, Bryant, Artest, Gasol, and Okafor. Clear way for another banner. While we're on the topic of the Lakers, Gilbert Arenas has also been rumored to being traded to the champions this offseason. This deal would most likely involve Jordan Farmar or Luke Walton.

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Maggette Traded to Bucks

Corey Maggette was dealt on Wednesday by the Golden State Warriors to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks also received a second round draft pick in Thursday's draft, and the Warriors got Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric in return.

Maggette will be expected to make an instant impact on the offensive end of the floor because of the fact that John Salmons might not re-sign with the Bucks in free agency. Maggette averaged 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year, and he will make an excellent running mate to Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut next year. The Bucks will be back into the playoffs, and will advance past the first round this year as long as their big three can stay healthy and consistent throughout the post season.

On the other hand, this trade is the first of several that will likely take place this summer for Golden State. The Warriors are attempting to start from square one and build the team around Stephen Curry. With the sixth pick in the draft on Thursday, Golden State will probably take a center. Greg Monroe is the most likely candidate, but don't be surprised if they pick up DeMarcus Cousins if he manages to slip that far down.

Overall, this trade this great for Milwaukee. With all of the free agent talk going on, there is one overlying pattern: most of the teams that can sign max money free agents (New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami) are in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee had to make a move now in order to stay relevant in the conference, and Golden State is looking down the road for a shot 3-5 seasons from now by rebuilding through the draft.

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