In the mean time, I’d package Simmons, Charlie V, and Moe Williams for Stephon Marbury while drafting a new point. This will save a lot of money in the future. Get one year use out of him, and move on grooming a new point.

For all you that are frustrated with Redd, I feel your pain BUT, how are you going to replace 25 a night? Not realistic unless your trading for a like-kind individual who puts up the same #. Michael Redd’s talents are best suited as Bogut’s wing man. If only he’d humble himself a bit, accept his new role as #2, this team will be great.

I often wonder about how this team would be doing if they were actually allowed to play to their strengths, rather than this petulant insistence of playing with “attitude” and slowed-down defense. They’re almost all uptempo guys, why not shoot the lights out? Playing the right offensive tempo generally can translate in increased efficiency on the defensive end, too.

Redd and Mo aren’t the pieces to move, IMHO. The bench has absolutely KILLED this team this year, and that’s where you start looking.

The contracts that need to be shed are Simmons’ and Gadzuric’s. Bell’s is an albatross simply because it’s so long, but he might actually have some value in the next couple of seasons if he were to play in a more uptempo style, so I think the Bucks are stuck with Bell for at least another season. Still can’t believe they ended up with that guy and lost Zaza. *sigh*

Mason and Charlie V clearly aren’t performing up to their salaries, but at least those contracts are up after next season. Those are the guys who could be moved for some value, hopefully bundled with Simmons’ or Gadz’s fat deals. Sadly, I ain’t exactly holding my breath.

Bogut this summer will be eligible to sign a 5-year extension. But his new first year salary won’t kick in until the 2009-2010 season per the way the contracts work.

In that season, the Bucks have about $48 million already committed in salaries if you assume we let Charlie V. go.

Bogut will already be making $6.3 million next season, so let’s say he gets a 5-year/$55 million dollar extension. That contract can start out at $9 million in year one and rise to say $12 to $13 million by the last two years. If the structure is that way, we really only add about a net of $3 million more to the Bucks 2009-2010 payroll with a Bogut extension. Very do-able. We’ll stay under the luxury tax in order to add more low salary players and still keep Bogut.

And the great news is that the Bucks will be close to the luxury tax for that season only, because Bobby Simmons big deal drops off our salary cap the next year, freeing up $10 million.

The Bucks have been planning their salary structure the last three years around an extension for Bogut.

I think the bigger question is what they can do with Michael Redd and Mo Williams, since those two next year will eat up $25 million dollars in salary between them, yet provide little leadership and defensive skills to help this team win games. We’ll have trouble trading either of them with their current bloated contracts. Yet I don’t see the team improving unless at least one goes.