One deal is close to done--John Salmons to the Bucks for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander--but there's still a few hours left before the deadline hits. Gery Woelfel keeps the trade talk going by suggesting the Bucks could be talking to the Sixers about a deal that would send Royal Ivey and possibly a draft pick to Milwaukee for Jodie Meeks. [Update: John Hollinger tweets it's Meeks and Francisco Elson for Ivey, Primoz Brezec, and a 2nd rounder]
Bucks fans know all about Ivey's high-effort, low-output style, but mostly this deal begs the question of whether a) the Bucks are so disenchanted with Meeks that they simply want to get rid of him or b) they want to acquire some backcourt depth to move Luke Ridnour. Or I suppose c) they may be silly enough to think that Royal Ivey is actually a useful NBA player...well, I won't accuse them of that quite yet.
Frank Isola at the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Knicks contacted the Bucks about a deal involving Ridnour and Jared Jeffries, which makes sense considering how desperate Donnie Walsh is to get rid of Jeffries' cap-killing 10/11 salary. The Bucks apparently balked at the mention of Jeffries ($6.883 million next year), whom the Knicks need to get rid of in order to open up more 2010 cap space. That was a major factor in the Knicks' offer to the Rockets of Jordan Hill and a 2012 first for Tracy McGrady, but with McGrady heading to Sacramento for Kevin Martin all bets are off. There's some suggestion McGrady could still end up in New York, but if New York is left out in the cold look for someone to try to fleece the Knicks in order to take on Jeffries' contract. The issue for the Bucks is that they're less well positioned to jump on the Jeffries' contract grenade next year now that they've acquired Salmons. JJ and Salmons would put the Bucks' 10/11 salaries over $62 million (not including Hill or anybody else), which could create luxury tax concerns next year.