The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired guard/forward Carlos Delfino and guard Roko Ukic (pronounced ROE-co OO-kitch) from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for forward Amir Johnson and guard/forward Sonny Weems, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
“After drafting DeMar DeRozan and trading for Marco Belinelli, Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright, Carlos made it clear he would prefer to play elsewhere if he were to return to the NBA,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “There were limited sign and trade scenarios available, but acquiring Amir Johnson in this deal gives us another long, talented young big man whose best basketball is ahead of him.”
Delfino (6-6, 230) played for BC Khimky Moscow last season in the Russian-A Superleague and averaged 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 26 games. In 10 Eurocup contests, the 26-year-old registered 13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 41.7 percent from three-point distance for the Eurocup finalists. Delfino started his professional career in Argentina in 1998 and in 2000 began a four-year stint in the Italian League. Selected by Detroit in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Delfino played three seasons for the Pistons (2004-2007) and was traded to Toronto prior to the 2007-08 season. He enjoyed his best statistical season in the NBA in 2007-08 when he averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Raptors while connecting on 38.2 percent (120-314) from the three-point arc.
A native of Sante Fe, Argentina, Delfino earned a Gold Medal for Argentina’s Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in 2004 and a Bronze Medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Last season, Ukic (6-5, 190) appeared in 72 games for the Raptors and totaled 4.2 points and 2.1 assists (7th among rookies) per game. Ukic began his professional career with KK Split in the Croatian League in 2000 where he played through 2005. He joined Tau Ceramica of the Spanish League in 2005 and played the following season with FC Barcelona. In 2007-08, Ukic competed in the Italian League for Lottomatica Virtus Roma and in 43 games averaged 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 59.9 percent from the field and 74.8 percent from the free throw line. In 19 Euroleague games, he averaged 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The 24-year-old Croatian was originally drafted by Toronto with the 41st pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
Johnson (6-9, 210) was acquired from Detroit in a three-team deal that included San Antonio on June 23. He participated in the Bucks NBA Summer League entry and in five games averaged 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. In 135 career NBA games, Johnson averaged 3.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots in 13.6 minutes per game.
Weems (6-6, 203) was acquired from Denver along with Walter Sharpe and cash considerations for Malik Allen on July 31. He appeared in 12 games for the Nuggets as a rookie and averaged 1.6 points in 4.6 minutes per game. He also saw action in 21 contests for the Colorado 14ers of the D-League where he posted 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Weems was the 39th overall pick by Chicago in the 2008 NBA Draft and traded to Denver for a second round pick in the most recent 2009 Draft.
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