WOLVES, BUCKS WHEEL AND DEAL

The NBA Draft is Thursday night.

WHO'S EXCITED?

(/crickets)

The Bucks and Timberwolves have apparently decided that they're not going to just sit around and suck anymore. They're making some moves aimed at getting the teams to be better.

Well, in the Bucks' case, sucking for one more year is tolerable, but they appear set to embark on the road to an NBA title in 2010. Either that, or they think they can sign LeBron when he goes free agent that summer.

Milwaukee traded Richard Jefferson -- a rare good player for them -- and got very, very little in return.

A high-ranking Bucks source has confirmed the team has traded forward Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for forwards Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto.

Ouch. Bowen is 37 and suffers from DSS (Diminishing Skills Syndrome). It's doubtful that he'll make a big impact on the 2009 Bucks.

Jefferson, meanwhile, still has plenty of hop left in his legs, and he could become a key piece of a restructured Spurs team.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have evidently decided that three first-round picks just won't get the job done. Perhaps new general manager David Kahn won't rest until he has all 30 first-rounders.

SI.com just reported what I’ve been working for the last 30 minutes to confirm: The Wolves and Wizards have struck a deal that will bring the No. 5 pick, Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov to Minnesota for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

This is an interesting deal. Miller did virtually nothing in his one Minnesota season, while Foye has been a disappointment since the Wolves drafted him drafted Brandon Roy and traded him for Foye.

(No wonder McHale got fired.)

If Kahn wants, he can move up for Ricky Rubio. If Kahn wants, he can take some extra picks and stock the bench with promising young talent. The new guy has the world at his fingertips now.