Offseason Preview: Bucks
By Cory Elfrink
June 4, 2010 9:58am CDT
2) How much are Salmons and Ridnour worth?
Salmons seems all but guaranteed to opt for free agency despite fitting in with the Bucks so seamlessly following last season's trade deadline. After struggling through 51 games with the Bulls to start the season, he averaged 19.9 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.2 rebounds on 46.7 percent shooting with the Bucks. He also had a handful of nice playoff games, but shot just 40.4 percent for the series and averaged only 17 points. He turns 31 next season and will likely be seeking a four to five year contract this offseason.
Over the course of his career, he has been a durable yet mostly underwhelming player. He has a nice skill set, and when he's on, he's a very good two-guard. But looking at his career numbers, there's very good reason to think that Salmons has already peaked. Signing him to a five year deal would be inadvisable, unless you could get him at a discount (say $30 million).
He's probably worth up to $14-$16 million over the next two seasons, but there's risk tied into even that. He'll be hard-pressed to find a better fit than the Bucks, but the team may be able to find equal or better talent with less long-term risk tied to it.