| | Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- With a six-player trade, three teams addressed
their biggest needs before the NBA draft even started.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers made the deal to fill holes with veterans instead of rookies from Wednesday night's draft. While none of the players involved is a star, all three teams feel they helped build depth.
Milwaukee dealt forwards Robert Traylor and J.R. Reid to the
Cavaliers while trading guard Vinny Del Negro to the Warriors. The Cavs dealt guard Bob Sura to the Warriors, and Golden State sent forwards Jason Caffey and Billy Owens to Milwaukee.
The Warriors dumped Caffey's seven-year, $35 million contract
and acquired some much-needed backcourt scoring in Sura and Del
Negro, while the Cavs ridded themselves of Sura's $4 million salary
and picked up two big bodies for their depleted frontcourt.
But the trade makes the biggest impact on the Bucks, who dealt
three bench players in order to land Caffey, a 6-foot-8 power
forward who they hope can be the physical force they lack. The deal
also will change the Bucks' draft strategy with the 15th overall
pick.
"Our options now are probably pushed more toward the backcourt," coach George Karl said. "We'll be looking at some guys now as our favorites who probably weren't our favorites earlier this week. That's where the best players in this draft are."
Traylor, the Bucks' top draft pick in 1998, and Reid, a free
agent signee last fall, played almost no significant minutes for
Milwaukee after the All-Star break as poor work habits and improved
play by Scott Williams and Darvin Ham knocked them out of favor.
Traylor was the Bucks' starting power forward during the
shortened 1999 season, and "The Tractor" quickly became a fan
favorite. But he reported to training camp overweight last fall,
and he never recovered his spot in the lineup despite getting
chances right up to his final month in the organization.
"He didn't show up here on June 1 for workouts like he was
supposed to," Karl said. "If he had been here for the whole month
of June, I might have felt differently."
Caffey, who had career-high averages of 12.0 points and 6.8
rebounds last season, has long been coveted by the Bucks in their
quest for a top-flight rebounder and defender.
He was nearly acquired at last season's trading deadline, but
Caffey -- who won two titles with the Chicago Bulls before a 1998
trade sent him to Golden State -- expressed a vehement distaste for
the winter weather of Milwaukee.
After GM Ernie Grunfeld and Karl spoke by phone with Caffey on
Tuesday, they emerged with a different picture of their new power
forward.
"He's really excited about coming here, and he's looking
forward to the opportunity," Grunfeld said. "He thinks it's a
chance for him to really play and contribute."
"He was a little apologetic as to some of the comments he made
in February," Karl said. "I don't think we'll have a problem.
He's a guy we think is as good as anybody on our team as a low-post
player."
Caffey's new attitude might also be due to his bleak prospects
in Golden State for the upcoming season. New Warriors coach Dave
Cowens, hired just weeks ago, immediately declared Antawn Jamison
his starting power forward, putting Caffey out of a job.
The oft-traded Owens missed the season's last 15 games with a
knee injury after being acquired by Golden State from Philadelphia.
He joins his sixth NBA organization in Milwaukee.
By acquiring both Traylor and Reid, the Cavaliers addressed
their most pressing need -- frontcourt size. Cleveland needed a big
man to back up injury-prone center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whom the Cavs are hoping will be able to play this season after sitting out
most of the past two with foot injuries.
The Cavs, who have the No. 8 pick in the first round, were
thought to be leaning toward selecting either 7-2 center Iakovos
Tsakalidis from Greece or Joel Przybilla from Minnesota.
"The trade does not change our thinking as we prepare of the
draft," Cavs GM Jim Paxson said. "We feel there's a chance that
we can get a pretty good player at No. 8."
The Warriors acquired two potential contributors in a backcourt
that was among the league's weakest last season.
Sura, who resurrected his career last year by averaging 13.8
points, is a proven outside scorer who also can slash to the
basket. He struggled under former Cavs coach Mike Fratello's
restrictive game plans, but flourished in the uptempo system of
Randy Wittman.
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