Magliore actually came cheap

Jamaal Magliore has to be traded, obviously. But was he worth the risk? I'd say yes.

Yesterday, in their season wrapup, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the Bucks paid a heavy price for Magliore. I don't agree. Criticism of Magliore's play is more than fair, but saying the Bucks paid a lot for him is not.

The Bucks gave up Desmond Mason and their 1st round pick, which turned out to be the 15th choice. Desmond Mason had a horrible season for New Orleans/ Oklahoma City. His Eff48 of 12.31 ranks as the very worst productivity of any NBA forward who was a regular contributor (defined as a player who played at least 25 minutes a game). The Bucks got more than that out of Jiri Welsch.

As for the 15th pick, here is a list of the 15th picks in each of the NBA drafts this decade:

2000------Steven Hunter -- Orlando
2001------Jason Collier-----Atlanta
2002------Reece Gaines----Orlando
2003------Boston Nachbar--Houston
2004------Al Jefferson------Boston
2005------Antoine Wright---New Jersey

Of that group, the only one who made any kind of contribution to his respective team is PF Al Jefferson (C Jason Collier tragically passed on prior to the season). That gives you a one in six chance of getting anything at all at the 15th pick, and Jefferson was a lucky choice. The Celtics chose him basically on spec coming out of high school. Thus, the value of the 15th pick is quite debatable.

If the Bucks can trade him for a truly productive player, then the trade will unquestionably have been worthwhile.