There's been a trade! And if you're a fan of salary dumps, well, we've got a deal for you. According to Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Bucks have acquired Corey Maggette from the Warriors in exchange for (the expiring contract of) Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell. Additionally, ESPN's Chad Ford reports that the Bucks will also receive the 44th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which they recently received from the Blazers in a swap of second round picks.
Maggette should provide the often punchless Bucks with a shot of scoring energy, albeit at a substantial price: namely, $31 over the next three season. Maggette put up 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year in the up-tempo system of mad scientist-cum-coach Don Nelson, and Maggette's propensity to get to the line and score in one-on-one situations figures to give the Bucks some much-needed wing scoring. Still, as Yahoo!'s Kelly Dwyer over at Ball Don't Lie points out, the Bucks are also taking an enormous financial risk on an overpaid player with a reputation for selfishness:
And $31 million, over the next three years? That's a lot of money for any team to pay a player like Maggette, much less a squad that works out of a small market and is no guarantee to make it back to the playoffs (and take in the subsequent playoff revenue). The Bucks were due to pay about $11 million of that $31 million to Bell and Gadzuric any way, next season, but Maggette just seems like a millstone in the making.
Meanwhile, Gadzuric's $7.24 million will come off the books after next season, with Bell's remaining $7.8 million expiring the following year. For a franchise in full cost-cutting mode, there's little more to say, as the move doesn't make them free agent players this summer, although it does increase their flexibility down the line.
For more on the Warriors and Bucks, check out Golden State of Mind and Brew Hoop.