Milwaukee Bucks' GM John Hammond Acquires Corey Maggette Before Draft Day

By Troy A. Sparks

We're two days away from the NBA draft, and Milwaukee general manager John Hammond made a trade.

He sent guard Charlie Bell and center/forward Dan Gadzuric to the Golden State Warriors for shooting guard Corey Maggette and the Warriors' second round pick.

I like this move because the Bucks aren't sure if forward John Salmons will re-sign with the team or test the free agent market.

He won't get that much more than the $5.8 million the Bucks will give him.

Maggette is a proven scorer. 

Last season, he averaged 19.8 points per game and shot 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line.

We don't know what we'll get from guard Michael Redd next season.

He's in his last year of an $18 million contract.

Nice piece of money for part-time work.

Since Maggette is with the Bucks, we don't need forward Jerry Stackhouse anymore.

"Stack" wants to come back to the team, but where will he play?

Plus, Stack played at North Carolina and Maggette at Duke.

Don't get me wrong, Bell and Gadzuric were good teammates and community reps for the team.

But they wore out their welcome in Milwaukee.

At the end of the day, it's all about business.

Now, what will the Bucks do with the 15th overall pick in the first round?

What will they do with the 37th, 44th, and 47th picks?

I think Hammond may be working on a trade with the second round picks to bring in a lower-tier free agent.

It sure would be nice to get LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in here.

They can take a pay cut this season and get big money after the team wipes Redd's salary off the books.

If we get those two, we'll win a championship.

But that's just wishful thinking.

Anyway, I'll be at the Bucks' draft day center with the rest of the media to witness in person who they will take with those picks.

Hammond could hold the lucky card, or he might crap out, like he did two years ago when he picked Joe Alexander.