Brezec, Ivey dealt to Bucks

IN A MOVE that will have little effect on the current roster but will certainly stir fan reaction, the 76ers dealt little-used reserves Primoz Brezec and Royal Ivey to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Jodie Meeks and center Francisco Elson. The Sixers also sent a 2010 second-round pick to the Bucks.

Though many were clamoring for the team to unload some big-contract players, such as forward Andre Iguodala and center Sam Dalembert, there wasn't a blockbuster deal that could have done justfbau that.

General manager Ed Stefanski stuck with the plan: If he was going to make a move, it was going to be one that would better the current team.

"For a while I've said, and from Ed Snider and the entire organization, that we were going to do a basketball deal for basketball value, not just for financial reasons alone," Stefanski said. "That was one of the guidelines that we had. We were very active and called all the teams, sometimes looking at deals involving two or three or four teams. But nothing came to fruition."

In Meeks, the Sixers are getting a player they coveted before last year's draft. The 6-4 guard was taken in the second round, 41st overall, in the June draft by Milwaukee. He has appeared in 41 games this season averaging 4.1 points and 11.9 minutes.

The Kentucky product is best remembered for scoring 54 points, including 10 three-pointers against Tennessee last season.

Elson, a 7-footer, has appeared in just 11 games for the Bucks this season, and is currently sidelined after having hernia surgery. He could be out for the rest of the season.

Meeks is scheduled to make $650,000 next season and $812,000 the next year. Elson's $1.7 million contract is up after this season.

"Jodie, he's a young man that we had rated very high on our draft board," said Stefanski. "We went with Jrue [Holiday at No. 17] because he was rated higher, but we were scrambling trying to get him. We like his upside, obviously. We'll see. We have him under contract so we'll be able to see firsthand if he was the player we thought he was. We'll be able to see if everyone was right on this guy."

In giving up Brezec and Ivey, the Sixers parted with two role players who hadn't seen action in a total of 72 games this season.

After not seeing action in 15 straight games, including 13 deactivations, Ivey played in five of the past six games, seeing double-digit minutes in three of them. Brezec, an 8-year NBA veteran, has played a total of 35 minutes all season.

"This was very amicable," said Keith Glass, Ivey's agent. "I'm very fond of Ed Stefanski and [head coach] Eddie Jordan. They like Royal. He played for Milwaukee before and the Bucks tried to get him back last summer. Of all the players I've represented over the years, he's the only one that, once he plays for a team, if he leaves they try and get him back."

Said Iguodala of Ivey on Twitter: "One of best teammates I ever had. Didn't get to show what he could do this year, but will show and prove. Good luck!"

Ivey, a 6-year NBA veteran out of Texas, was the consummate team player, adept in his role as a defender, although he was seldom used. Jordan often praised Ivey's work ethic and professionalism.

Last year, Brezec played with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in the Italian League, where he was teammates with Bucks' rookie guard Brandon Jennings.

Meeks, a solid outside shooter during his 3-year career at Kentucky, has struggled from the field in his limited time this season, shooting 36.2 percent from the floor, including 28 percent from beyond the arc.

Had the Sixers traded Iguodala and Dalembert for Houston's Tracy McGrady and his expiring contract, they would only have been $6.8 million under the cap, after deducting McGrady's $23.2 million. According to Stefanski, if the Rockets would have been willing to include a couple of young players in the trade, such as Carl Landry or Chase Budinger, that "would have been intriguing."

The Sixers also inquired about 6-5 guard Roger Mason Jr. of the San Antonio Spurs and 6-5 guard Anthony Morrow of the Golden State Warriors, but got nowhere.

"I think it is a frustrating time," said Stefanski. "You make a ton of phone calls, have a ton of discussions. You think you're close, but salaries are not matching or something in the CBA [collective-bargaining agreement] won't allow it or you're dealing with third teams and it doesn't work. It didn't come through that we'd get equal value or value to get better on the court right now.

"We wanted to balance the roster if we could. We have numerous four [power forward] men, looking at a two [shooting] man is an interesting spot for us or a two-three [small forward] kind of guy. The next 29 games will be interesting from an evaluating standpoint. We were excited about trade deadline. Now we'll get excited about the draft, then the free agency and it will start all over."

Many of the moves made yesterday by teams were done strictly to have money to be competitive this offseason for a bountiful free-agent market that includes LeBron James and Chris Bosh, among others.

"No question for us just to take back expiring contracts for talent didn't make sense and wouldn't have gotten us close to the teams that are way under the cap," Stefanski said. "A lot of teams that felt good about themselves and the cap before [yesterday], and now they have a lot of company."

The Sixers aren't one of them.