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The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, a Bucks source told ESPN.com.
Durable Stars
In the past two seasons, only two players have averaged at least 20.0 PPG while playing in every game: Richard Jefferson (pictured) and Kobe Bryant.
Player Team PPG
Kobe Bryant Lakers 27.6
Richard Jefferson Bucks 21.1
Andre Iguodala 76ers 19.3
Andre Miller 76ers 16.7
The two teams have agreed to the deal in principle. A trade call to make the deal official will happen later Tuesday.
The move gives the Spurs a dynamic wing scorer to play alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs had promised to make their team better this summer and adding Jefferson for role players should give them a huge shot in the arm.
Jefferson averaged 19.6 points and shot a career-high 39.7 percent from 3-point range while starting all 82 games.
Parker said he would welcome a big, athletic player like Jefferson.
"He's a great wing," Parker said. "It's something we don't have on our team."
The Bucks' incentive to make the trade is largely financial. Bowen, Oberto and Thomas are all in the last year of their contracts. The deal will clear $15 million off the books for the Bucks in 2010-11 and give Milwaukee more flexibility for the 2009-10 season. The Bucks expect to save $6.35 million next season after releasing Bowen (only $2 million guaranteed) and Oberto (only $1.9 million guaranteed), a source told ESPN.com.
That may give the Bucks the wiggle room to sign one or both of their restricted free agents -- Charlie Villanueva or Ramon Sessions -- next year.
The move also opens up some playing time for the Bucks' lottery pick last year, Joe Alexander.
Jefferson became the Bucks' biggest offensive threat after Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut suffered season-ending injuries, but the Bucks' tight financial situation made a move necessary. Milwaukee does not want to pay the NBA's luxury tax, which last year hit teams dollar-for-dollar once they reach $71.15 million in total payroll.
After Bowen and Oberto are released, the Bucks will be about $11 million under the luxury tax threshold.
Redd, Bogut and Jefferson are scheduled to make more than $41 million combined this season.
The trade was a shock to at least one Bucks player: Villanueva posted "RJ traded to Spurs. Wow" on his Twitter account before the trade was official.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Durable Stars
In the past two seasons, only two players have averaged at least 20.0 PPG while playing in every game: Richard Jefferson (pictured) and Kobe Bryant.
Player Team PPG
Kobe Bryant Lakers 27.6
Richard Jefferson Bucks 21.1
Andre Iguodala 76ers 19.3
Andre Miller 76ers 16.7
The two teams have agreed to the deal in principle. A trade call to make the deal official will happen later Tuesday.
The move gives the Spurs a dynamic wing scorer to play alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs had promised to make their team better this summer and adding Jefferson for role players should give them a huge shot in the arm.
Jefferson averaged 19.6 points and shot a career-high 39.7 percent from 3-point range while starting all 82 games.
Parker said he would welcome a big, athletic player like Jefferson.
"He's a great wing," Parker said. "It's something we don't have on our team."
The Bucks' incentive to make the trade is largely financial. Bowen, Oberto and Thomas are all in the last year of their contracts. The deal will clear $15 million off the books for the Bucks in 2010-11 and give Milwaukee more flexibility for the 2009-10 season. The Bucks expect to save $6.35 million next season after releasing Bowen (only $2 million guaranteed) and Oberto (only $1.9 million guaranteed), a source told ESPN.com.
That may give the Bucks the wiggle room to sign one or both of their restricted free agents -- Charlie Villanueva or Ramon Sessions -- next year.
The move also opens up some playing time for the Bucks' lottery pick last year, Joe Alexander.
Jefferson became the Bucks' biggest offensive threat after Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut suffered season-ending injuries, but the Bucks' tight financial situation made a move necessary. Milwaukee does not want to pay the NBA's luxury tax, which last year hit teams dollar-for-dollar once they reach $71.15 million in total payroll.
After Bowen and Oberto are released, the Bucks will be about $11 million under the luxury tax threshold.
Redd, Bogut and Jefferson are scheduled to make more than $41 million combined this season.
The trade was a shock to at least one Bucks player: Villanueva posted "RJ traded to Spurs. Wow" on his Twitter account before the trade was official.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
