June 28, 2006 - The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired the draft rights for Damir Markota from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for the better of Milwaukee’s two second round draft picks in the 2007 NBA Draft. The Bucks previously owned two second round picks for next year’s draft – their own pick and a pick obtained from the Houston Rockets (they received Houston’s 2007 second round pick on February 24, 2005 along with a 2006 second round pick and Reece Gaines from the Rockets in exchange for Mike James and Zendon Hamilton).

Markota, selected 59th overall by the Spurs in tonight’s 2006 NBA Draft, averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds last season for Cibona Zagreb of the Adriatic League. The 20-year-old Markota is a native of Croatia and made his professional debut with Cibona during the 2001-02 season at the age of 16. The 6-10 forward has been a member of the Croatian Junior National Team and the Croatian Under-20 National Team. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds during the 2003 World Junior Championships and averaged team highs of 18.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the 2005 U20 European Championships held in Moscow, Russia.

The Bucks had one pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, drafting David Noel out of the University of North Carolina with the 39th overall selection.