The Milwaukee Bucks announced on Thursday, August 10 that they had acquired Ruben Patterson from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Joe Smith.

Patterson was in Milwaukee on Tuesday, August 15 to speak with members of the media. He was joined by General Manager Larry Harris.

OPENING STATEMENT BY LARRY HARRIS:
The man standing to my left is really the final piece to the puzzle … He has started, has come off the bench, has played on good teams, has played on bad teams … has basically seen all of the NBA in his career … I think he is genuinely excited about being here and truly understanding what his role is and he is committed to being with the Milwaukee Bucks. As I was telling him through all the research that was done on him, no one, not one player, one coach, one trainer, no one person that’s been around this guy doesn’t love him. They love him as a player; hate playing against him, love playing with him. He’s always about winning, and that’s from college. Without further ado, I think Ruben wants to say something and then we will open up to you guys.

OPENING STATEMENT BY RUBEN PATTERSON:
Well, first of all, I want to thank this guy (points to Larry Harris) for getting me out here. Milwaukee is a wonderful city so far, since I’ve been here, and it’s good to be with Michael Redd, a good friend of mine, and a lot of the other guys on the team. I really am looking forward to starting in October – bringing energy, bringing effort and helping this team go far in the playoffs. I am very excited.

Ruben, it sounds like Larry is asking you to do a lot. We’ve heard 2, 3, and 4 in there?
Yeah, I play it all, just like when I was in Denver. George (Karl) asked me, “Can you guard 1, 2, 3, 4?” I can do it all. I’m not afraid. I love the competition and I’m going to bring a lot to the team. You guys who believe in that, that’s what I’m going to do.

How about in the 4 spot? That might be the biggest reach?
I played the 4, too. I’ve posted up plenty of power forwards, so I’m looking forward to it.

Do you consider yourself a lock-down defender?
Well, coming from Cincinnati, I know you guys probably followed me when I was at UC, too, you know we played Marquette. You have to be a tough (player) to play for Bob Huggins. You know, you look at guys in the league, Kenyon Martin, guys who went to Cincinnati, that’s all Bob Huggins preached was defensive. I’m here to help this team and help these guys get better defensively so that we can be a lock-up team.

Have you had a chance to look at the roster? What do you think of the roster that Larry has put together?
I thought it was great. You know, Steve Blake, he played with me in Portland. He will be a nice solid back up point guard. Brian Skinner, I have seen him play and other guys. You know, if we come together as a unit and family we can beat anybody. I’m going to make sure I preach that to the guys the first day of training camp. We have to stick together. If we are going to win, we are going to do it together, and there aren’t going to be any egos on this team. We are going to play hard together.

Last year, when you were in Portland, I know earlier in the year playing time was a concern. It sounds like it’s not going to be a concern here? I take it you don’t mind coming off of the bench either?
No, I mean, to tell you the truth, I love coming off the bench. You know I can just watch the game and see what’s going on, but it doesn’t matter because I have started and come off the bench and I’m going to do the same. In Portland, it was different. Back when Scottie (Pippen) was there, Bonzi Wells, Derek Anderson, myself, we had too many guys playing all the same positions. Just being here now to help Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd is just a tremendous thing for me.

Do you think you will be a good complement to Bobby Simmons?
Yeah, we can help each other out. I know I’m going to talk to him and he’s going to talk to me. I mean, it’s everybody … we just have to talk to each other and help each other out. I mean, it can be nice when guys have bad games, you just have to step up and pat them on the butt and say its going to be ok.