Without any doubts, this year’s off-season has been a rather unpleasant experience for Milwaukee’s fan base. Due to the economic downfall teams in small markets are facing serious financial problems, inevitably leading to desperate moves in order to decrease their payroll. In Milwaukee’s case, the Bucks already had to let go of swingman Richard Jefferson who was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for nothing more than cap relief. Moreover, the Bucks are said to be looking to move the promising young point guard Ramon Sessions.

Considering the aforementioned circumstances, the franchise was bound to look for role players who could fill the void at various roster spots. Today, the Bucks’ front office announced that they were able to agree on a four-player trade with the Toronto Raptors. More specifically, the Bucks will receive Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic in exchange for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems. Taking a look at what these players have been able to do in the past, the trade appears to favor the Bucks at first glance. Even though Delfino played in Europe last year, he has proven to be a solid contributor for the Raptors in the past. In 2007-08, Carlos Delfino averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 points in 23.5 minutes per game. In contrast, point guard Roko Ukic only got to play limited minutes in his rookie year last season but still managed to show the ability to break down opposing guards using his quickness. Given the fact that he will play behind fellow rookie Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee, he might see more minutes in 2009-10 and could turn out to be a decent pickup for the Bucks. Toronto on the other hand receives the serviceable big man Amir Johnson who has yet to reach his full potential. Although it appears to be highly unlikely that he will spend much time on the floor, he is still an athletic backup option in case the Raptors face injury problems.

Obviously, the Bucks seem to get the better end of the deal but this does not necessarily mean that Bryan Colangelo made the wrong choice. After picking up Jarret Jack, Marco Belinelli, Antoine Wright and Demar DeRozan, neither Ukic nor Delfino were going to get the opportunity to play on a regular basis. Therefore, trading both guards to fill the Raptors backup holes at the small forward and power forward position makes sense. Likewise, Amir Johnson’s contract will come off the books in 2010 and will give Toronto more flexibility next summer. As it is still up in the air whether franchise cornerstone Chris Bosh will resign, any cap relief could come in handy down the stretch.

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