Damon Jones coming back Saturday night

by Frank Madden on Dec 26, 2008 3:54 PM CST

As first reported by Dan on RealGM and now confirmed by the Journal-Sentinel, Damon Jones is ditching T.O.'s posse and joining up with the Bucks on Saturday. As you probably know, Jones was acquired in the Mo WIlliams trade this summer but came to an agreement with the Bucks that he would not be with the team while John Hammond and company looked for a way to trade him elsewhere. The possiblity of a buyout was also discussed, but with the season nearing the midway mark and Jones unlikely to get anything but a minimum deal elsewhere, the potential cost savings to the Bucks are relatively small.

The real question: why now? Charlie Bell could miss time with the knee injury he suffered Tuesday against the Jazz, but the Bucks have missed Bell and Luke Ridnour at various points this season without feeling the need to bring Jones back into the fold. Aside from that, Bell hasn't really played PG at all this year with Ridnour, Sessions, and Tyronn Lue around. So unless some other roster move is forthcoming, adding Jones seems rather...random.

Jones doesn't need to report to the Bucks in order to be traded, so my guess is his departure isn't imminent. The more obvious answer might be a trade involving Tyronn Lue ($2.25 million), who Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times mentioned this week as a player of interest for the Lakers. The simplest deal involving the Lakers would be for Chris Mihm's expiring deal ($2.5 million), but that move doesn't fill an obvious need from a Bucks perspective. Lue's expiring and has done well as a shooter off the bench, so trading him isn't a real priority, nor is acquiring another mediocre seven-footer (that's where the Dutchmen fit in). Which would suggest that a more complicated deal is also possible.

UPDATE: Head over to WSSP where their headline story courtesy of Gery Woelfel also has this tasty teaser:

This may be a move that lines the Bucks up to make a trade in the near future. Rumblings going around have included PG Tyronn Lue and PF Charlie V involved in potential deals. Stay tuned to 1250 WSSP for the latest on the Milwaukee Bucks.

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let's get one thing clear

letting damon jones onto the court would not necessarily be a good thing. The self-professed “Greatest Shooter in the World” doesn’t have any other skills, and his speciality isn’t even all that great when you consider last year’s 3-Point Shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend.

Also, trading Charlie Villanueva might be appealing given his defensive shortcomings, but who else is going to play PF and give us a decent offensive contribution? Is Mbah a Moute going to play there all year? Is Malik Allen going to come in and play starter minutes? Unless they get a 4 in return, I don’t like the idea of trading Charlie V away.

"I'm so clean, cats think I sip Ajax."

by Mitchell Maurer on Dec 26, 2008 6:55 PM CST reply actions

I agree, I don’t think Jones has much left in the tank. But if he’s the third-string PG you don’t have to use him much either way. All things being equal I’d take Lue, but Lue has some trade appeal at the moment whereas Jones doesn’t.

In principle now is the time to shop Villanueva—he’s playing pretty well and his value is higher than it was at the beginning of the season. If you’re not comfortable signing him to a longer-term deal (which is reasonable given his history) then you have to make a deal before the deadline. Plus the Bucks’ luxury tax situation is going to be hanging over their heads with whatever deal they make now.

I’d be very comfortable trading CV if a young PF was coming back in return…

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by Frank Madden on Dec 26, 2008 7:12 PM CST reply actions