When the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Corey Maggette from the Golden State Warriors, many took it as an indication that GM John Hammond did not expect resigning John Salmons once the free agency market opens. Yet, it took the franchise's front-office just a few hours after the talks began to announce that the wing player will stay in Milwaukee as he signed a five-year deal worth $39 million.

Taking the financial woos of the franchise in recent years into account, it is certainly somewhat surprising that the Bucks' management is investing serious amounts of money into the team. One one hand, the team just got rid of Charlie Villanueva, Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions last summer to avoid further monetary problems. On the other hand, Milwaukee is coming off a surprisingly good season as they almost beat the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. Most importantly, rookie point guard Brandon Jennings had a phenomenal year putting up 15.5 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game and was a substantial part of the Bucks' success. Therefore, one might have been inclined to think that Milwaukee would continue to watch their young nucleus grow together and enjoy being relatively successful despite cutting expenses. Obviously, General Manager John Hammond is looking to make a serious push to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference with the acquisition of Corey Maggette while keeping John Salmons and Michael Redd as wing players as well. In 2009-10, John Salmons averaged 19.9 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 30 appearances for the Milwaukee Bucks.

You can watch all games of the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.