The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired center Primoz Brezec and guard Royal Ivey (6-4, 215) from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for center Francisco Elson and guard Jodie Meeks, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Additionally, the Bucks obtained Philadelphia’s second round draft pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Brezec (7-1, 255) is currently in his eighth NBA season and sports career averages of 7.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 328 regular season games (214 starts). Last season, Brezec played for Lottomatica Virtus Roma in the Italian League where he teamed with current Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings. In 29 games in the Italian League, Brezec averaged 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 63.2 percent from the field. In 14 Euroleague games, he tallied 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.
A native of Postojna, Slovenia, Brezec, 30, began his professional career in the Slovenian League with Kraski (1996-98) and Olimpija Ljubljana (1998-2001). He was selected by Indiana in the first round (27th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft and played three seasons (2001-2004) for the Pacers before being selected by Charlotte in the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft. Brezec played three-plus seasons in Charlotte before finishing out the 2007-08 campaign with Detroit and Toronto. He signed with Philadelphia prior to the start of the 2009-10 season and appeared in seven games for the 76ers.
Ivey, 28, is in his sixth NBA season and second stint with the Bucks. The Harlem, NY, native spent the 2007-08 campaign in Milwaukee and played in a career-high 75 games (20 starts) and averaged 5.6 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds – all career-high totals. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 37th selection out of Texas in the 2004 NBA Draft, Ivey played three seasons in Atlanta before signing with the Bucks. He signed with Philadelphia prior to the 2008-09 season and has played 97 games for the 76ers over the last season-plus. In 360 career NBA regular season games (109 starts), Ivey has averaged 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Elson, 33, signed a free agent contract with Milwaukee prior to the 2008-09 season. Currently in his seventh NBA season, Elson began his NBA career in Denver in 2003 and has also played with San Antonio (2006-2008) and Seattle (2008). In 404 career NBA regular season games (148 starts), Elson has averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds. Elson is the first Dutch national to win an NBA Championship (Spurs – 2007).
Meeks, 22, was selected by Milwaukee after his junior year at the University of Kentucky with the 41st pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft. He played in 41 games for the Bucks this season and averaged 4.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game. As a junior for the Wildcats, Meeks set a school single-game scoring record with 54 points, including 10 three-point field goals and 14-of-14 from the line. He set Kentucky’s all-time single-season record for three-pointers made (117) in his junior year.
