Milwaukee Swapped Wing Depth and a Pick for a Starting Center
The Bucks acquired Jamaal Magloire on October 26, 2005, transferring Desmond Mason and a future first-round draft choice to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The first-round selection became No. 15 Cedric Simmons in 2006, and the imported transaction ledger also records cash on the Hornets side. Magloire had been an All-Star with the Hornets, but Milwaukee was purchasing a center whose most productive season had already occurred. The move was designed to pair proven interior size with a Bucks roster that included rookie Andrew Bogut.
Magloire Immediately Started All Eighty-Two Bucks Games
Magloire fulfilled the immediate starting-center requirement. He appeared in every Milwaukee regular-season game in 2005-06 and started all eighty-two, averaging 9.2 points and 9.5 rebounds. He supplied rebounding, physical post defense and consistent lineup availability as Milwaukee made the postseason. Those eighty-two starts represent substantial real value and shouldn't be discarded because the Bucks traded him again after one season. His previous years in New Orleans and the All-Star selection earned there, however, remain outside this receiving-team return.
The Hornets Added Desmond Mason and the Fifteenth Pick
New Orleans received Mason as an established forward who could attack the basket and provide athletic perimeter defense. The following summer the Hornets used the acquired draft choice on Cedric Simmons at No. 15. Simmons had promise as an interior defender but did not establish a sustained starting role for the franchise. Neither return matched the volume of Magloire's entire earlier Hornets career, yet the transaction gave New Orleans two separate basketball assets instead of one veteran under contract. The possible cash component should be recognized without assigning an unsupported dollar amount.
The Two-Asset Return Barely Outweighed One Productive Year
Milwaukee obtained exactly what it wanted for the 2005-06 campaign: an available starting center who rebounded at a high level. New Orleans added wing minutes through Mason and invested another first-round choice in the future. The Hornets carried more developmental uncertainty, while the Bucks got a shorter but more certain return. Neither side should receive an extreme grade, and the comparison is closer than the inherited Bucks B- might suggest. The wider two-asset package gives New Orleans a small advantage over a single season of dependable Bucks starting production.
Final Verdict
Pelicans Win narrowly. The Hornets earn B+ for receiving Desmond Mason and the 2006 No. 15 pick used on Cedric Simmons, with cash also listed in the original ledger. Milwaukee gets B because Jamaal Magloire started all eighty-two 2005-06 Bucks games and averaged 9.5 rebounds. Both teams realized meaningful, different returns.