The Milwaukee Bucks are pretty much open to offers for each and every one of their players aside for a couple of young ones, making Luke Ridnour a highly coveted option for teams to use as a backup point guard for the remainder of the season in their push for the playoffs, as the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards & Sacramento Kings have already shown some sort of interest.
Ridnour just turned 33 last week and has been mostly coming off the bench this season for the Bucks, his 11th season in the league. He’s averaging 5.7 points and 3.4 assists per game on 21.2 minutes a night, being another player that is kept off the court intentionally as the Bucks are attempting to lose as much as possible.
According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, the Bucks have already gotten a number of calls about Ridnour’s availability, and what would it take for them to get his expiring deal, which is worth a $4.3 million cap hit.
For some teams, like the Sacramento Kings and possibly the Denver Nuggets, it’s about getting some money off the table by acquiring Ridnour. The Bulls are going to make the playoffs and could use a bit of some backcourt help, but considering they aren’t planning on winning anything and are more concerned with putting up a good team next season, Ridnour might be a way for them to get further away from the luxury tax in the near future.
For both the Wizards and the Warriors this is strictly a move for now – Eric Maynor isn’t working out in Washington and Stephen Curry doesn’t really have a backup in Golden State. Ridnour is a good shooter (36.8%) and versatile enough to play as a two-guard as well if necessary, which makes him a valuable player to use off the bench for teams looking to improve their overall situation as we get closer to the playoffs. It’s going to take giving up a player or two for both teams considering his cap hit, but Ridnour could be a difference maker in the right role besides the financial benefits of acquiring him.