[Updated to reflect the available FA's as of 07/18]

Brewhoopers: After the verbal commitment to sign from John Salmons and Drew Gooden, the Bucks roster is close to solidified. Starting lineups and who will be considered 11th/12th man aside, the Bucks are a backup point guard away. Looking around the league, here's a look at the free agents (restricted and unrestricted) for the Bucks position to fill. 

Luke Ridnour is on this list based on my belief that while we are in play for him, I wouldn't put it past John Hammond to be looking elsewhere. Not to mention our budget might not fit Ridnour's desire.

So what say you, bloggers? Who do you want to see in a Bucks uniform next year?

Hey Raptors Fans,

Bucks fan here. I just started a thread over at Brew Hoop regarding this scenario I dreamt up in my head. Please feel free to join the conversation over there. I won't copy the whole thread over here, but it basically revolves around this premise:

Raptors get:
Michael Redd's huge expiring contract
Bucks first rounder (#15)

Bucks get:
Bosh under some ridiculous max contract

Please read the entire thread here. I'd love to hear Raptors fan feedback, and with SB Nation, you don't have to create a new account to post on different teams blogs. Just agree to the site's terms and you're good to go.

I'm sure there will be more coverage about free agency when the season actually ends, but can we begin the speculation now? The internets are abuzz that Bosh has all but left the Raptors. Boozer has been out of Utah about 7 times. Amare almost got traded to about 5 teams at this year's deadline. What I'm getting at is this; there are teams that are going to lose their free agents this year whether they like it or not. What are the ramifications of doing sign and trade deals? I know there are things like bird rights and other rules to get around, but for teams that know their star player is on the way out, wouldn't they look to do a sign and trade to get something out of it? For instance:

Raptors get:
Michael Redd's huge expiring contract
Bucks first rounder

Bucks get:
Bosh under some ridiculous max contract

This, in theory makes sense because if Toronto can't sign Bosh, they'd want to get something out of the deal, and could take a risk on Redd in exchange for a first round pick. You could change the scenario to Boozer, Nowitski, or heck, D-Wade.

I feel like I have to be missing something, because it all seems so easy. Granted, a lot of teams wouldn't want that $18 million contract, but to take a risk on what was a 20PPG scorer and a 1st rounder when your alternative is to lose your best player with nothing in return.....it makes sense.

Anyone have any clue what the tune is that they play when 'los hits a shot at the Bradley Center? I've tried to google a few different things, and I get absolutely nothing in return.  I probably have no idea what to search for, and "Latino Horns mp3" does not quite do it. It doesn't get much cheesier than this, but I really want to make that my text message notification. Any help? Thanks guys!

The tradewinds blow to the tune of Troy Murphy. Here's one scenario I throw on the table:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yjolvdc

Does it/could it happen? Doubtfully. I don't see Indy really wanting KT, although the speed of Ridnour/Warrick might be reason enough. Add to the fact that they cut $4 Million in salary, get all expiring contracts and rid themselves of Troy Murphy's contract for next year and it COULD happen.

What does it do for the Bucks? Well it gives them meat at the 4, someone that would be a good compliment to Bogut, someone not afraid to rebound. Even better, the man can shoot. TJ Ford would return to the Bucks and this is where it becomes a problem. TJ has a player option in 2010 and would undoubtedly use it. He doesn't hate Milwaukee that much to walk away from that salary. And as a backup? Not sure that would be worth it to the Bucks. Please provide your thoughts below.

So, Bucks fans. What to do? Our formula and team as it stands, which had us on a 9-4 start, now has us on a 11-14 slide with no clear end in sight after an embarrassing loss to the Kings at the Bradley Center. 

Is it too early to call for a move? If so, let's get creative. Mike Redd for anyone is just too easy to ask for, but not at all practical considering how awful he's been since returning. 

Me personally am looking to see if the Bucks move Ridnour, Bell, or Warrick. Hakim has lost his aggressiveness he showed in the preseason, Bell is dead weight at this point and takes minutes from a potentially talented Meeks. Ridnour has an expiring contract and an undeniable hot streak. 

What do you think?

I have been asking friends that are fans, have asked myself, and now am going to ask the Bucks fans on the web,

Who can we trade Michael Redd for?

The first problem is to get the man healthy, of course, so he needs to be playing, and playing well come February. At this point, I'd much rather see us to be able to go on without Redd, as his return may disrupt this mantra the current Bucks are enjoying at the moment. Adding Redd into our current equation decreases Bogut and Jennings touches, and right now, we don't want to do that.

Redd's salary

2009/10: $17 million

2010/11: $18.3 million (player option)

We know Redd is going to take the player option should he stay in Milwaukee and you can't blame him. If he declined and joined the free agent bonanza of 2010, he'd be lucky to earn half that. So, Bucks fans, where do we send Redd to?

Here are a couple of scenarios that I've read about previously, or dreamt up in my sleep:

Redd for Boozer

This trade wouldn't work on it's own, because Boozer only makes $12.32 million. Throw in Matt Harpring (1yr/$6.5mil) or Kyle Korver (1yr/$5.25mil) for Redd and Joe Alexander, and the thing works. The Jazz are struggling big time right now, if Redd were healthy I wonder if this would be viable. Plus we could rid ourselves of the Joe Alexander project early.

Redd for Dampier

A much less appealing trade from a talent standpoint, I've read about this trade on Brew Hoop before as a rumor. Dampier (2yr/$25mil) and Shawne Williams (1yr/$2.4mil) for Redd would work. Dampier's contract is in question however, because of a rumored minute clause. Basically, the rumor states that if Dampier plays less than 25 minutes a game, his contract for next year becomes non-guaranteed. In other words, let him rot on the bench and we get him off the books after this year. This trade would give the Bucks about $2 million in breathing room should another deal be pulled, and would make the Dallas Mavericks ridiculous, albeit lacking at the big man spot.

Redd for Shaq

OK, so I admit I pulled this one out of thin air, but it's not TOTALLY insane. I could never see Shaq playing for the Bucks, he'd probably retire instead of doing so, but if the Shaq in Cleveland experiment didn't go so well come February, something could happen. Shaq (1yr/$21mil) for Redd, Alexander, and Ukic (1yr/$1.4mil) would work. A few other scenarios would work too, but again, the Redd headache would end come the end of this season, and could allow us to make a splash in the acclaimed 2010 free agent market.

So hopefully I got some creative juices flowing on this Redd to ????? question. Let's hear what the Bucks fanbase thinks of where we could send Redd. Or maybe you think I'm nuts and we should keep him. Whatever the case, let's hear it.