The Bratwurst – Milwaukee Bucks Blog

John Canzano of the Portland Oregonian is reporting that “an NBA source” tells him that Zach Randolph is about to be traded to the Bucks. Come on, now. That’s ridiculous.

Besides not fitting on the Bucks, besides not being the type of player the Bucks need, besides being a major character risk and potential PR nightmare, Randolph’s salary makes it almost impossible to come up with a trade.

There isn’t much positive to say about Randolph’s game except that he scores and rebounds. He is a legitimate 20/10 guy, and there aren’t too many of those around. However, he is one of the worst defensive players in the league, an awful passer, and not much of a shot blocker.

And then there’s the Marbury factor — Randolph carried the Blazers to the number one pick in the draft last season, and this year somehow the Knicks are actually worse for having acquired him while Portland is suddenly the hottest team in the league. Randolph is the type of player who puts up big numbers but doesn’t help a team win all that much — you can get scoring from almost anyone, but it takes a really special player to give up as many points on defense as he does and still stay on the floor.

Of course when you bring up Randolph, there’s always the matter of his entourage — the “Hoops Family” made up of hometown friends and hangers-on and the variety of legal issues he has had in the past. Suffice it to say that Randolph is the sort of potential PR risk that Kohl would not want to be a part of.

Now, how exactly are the Bucks supposed to work a trade? Randolph makes $13 million this year and has four years remaining on his contract. Gadzuric and Simmons for Randolph works, but they also have 3-4 years left on their contracts. So why would either team make that trade? The Knicks already have about 5 small forwards so Simmons doesn’t really fit and Gadzuric is just a role player, and they would be stuck with those players for years. The Bucks wouldn’t save any money and would add a player at the position currently manned by Yi — who is the financial future of the franchise. Michael Redd straight up for Randolph? No freaking way. If you are trading for Randolph then you are suffering under the delusion that you are ready to win now. You wouldn’t then trade away your best perimeter player as well.

Maybe the Bucks are thinking they could move Yi to small forward. If that was true, then why hasn’t he played any small forward in the last few weeks with Mason out and Simmons ineffective?

This is a rumor that has no legs, no matter what Canzano’s “NBA source” has to say about it. It’s just a chance for him to make a snappy Laverne & Shirley reference in his column.

But if the Bucks do get Randolph, I’m not renewing my tickets next season.