Peter Vescey of The New York Post is reporting that Bucks’ GM Larry Harris apparently rejected a trade offer from the Knicks that would have sent Zach Randolph and Renaldo Balkman to Milwaukee for Charlie Villanueva, Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric.
As far as I can determine, the word got out when Harris called his Trail Blazers counterpart, Kevin Pritchard, to check out Randolph, whom the Knicks acquired from Portland last June on draft night, and someone in their organization leaked it to a reporter for The Oregonian.
By that time, the Bucks had summarily rejected the Knicks’ proposal.
The deal would be a no-brainer for the Bucks if not for Randolph’s considerable baggage. He was a stud (23.6 points, 10.1 rebounds) and a relatively good citizen in his last year in Portland, but he has clashed with management in New York, which has prompted this trade offer. He is a force down low and commands a double-team, something that would help the Bucks and their plethora of jump shooters.
Simmons isn’t the same player since his foot injury and Villanueva has been decidedly average coming off the bench in Milwaukee.
It appears that Harris was seriously considering the offer, but nixed it after talking to Portland about Randolph.
