Bucks Acquire Boykins & Hodge For Blake

“Given our current situation, we were able to make a deal to help us solidify our roster, both in the short-term and long-term,” said Harris. “Earl gives us added firepower and depth at the guard position. Julius is a young player continuing his development, but shows a high skill level at both the two and three positions.”

Boykins, 30, averaged 15.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 31 games with Denver this season, including a 26-point effort on 1/8/07 against Milwaukee. He ranks sixth in the NBA with a 90.8 free throw percentage and is a career 88.1 percent free throw shooter. The 5-5, 133-lb guard is currently in his ninth NBA season. Not drafted out of Eastern Michigan in 1998, he played for five NBA teams in five years before spending the past three-and-a-half seasons with the Nuggets. He has also spent time with New Jersey, Cleveland, Orlando, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State, and owns career averages of 9.4 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 449 games.

Hodge, 23, is currently in his second NBA season after being drafted by Denver in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft (20th overall). He appeared in four games with Denver this season, averaging 1.5 points and 2.5 assists in 9.2 minutes per game, and nine games in the D-League with the Colorado 14ers, averaging 12.1 points, 9.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds. Last season, the 6-7, 210-lb guard/forward split time with Denver (14 games) and the D-League’s Austin Toros (17 games). He averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists while with the Toros, including a season-best 33 points on 3/12/06 against Fayetteville. He finished a four-year collegiate career at N.C. State as the team’s third leading scorer (2,040 points) and all-time leader in minutes (4,258) and free throws made (596).

Blake appeared in 33 games with the Bucks this season, including two starts. He maintained averages of 3.6 points, 2.5 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game. The 26-year-old guard was traded to Milwaukee this past summer on 7/31/06 along with Brian Skinner and Ha Seung-Jin in exchange for Jamaal Magloire. He was selected by Washington in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft (28th overall) where he played for two seasons. He spent the 2005-06 campaign in Portland. Through 220 career games, Blake is averaging 6.0 points, 3.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds.