National Basketball Association

Bucks eager to see what Harris, Leuer can do

Published Jun. 25, 2011 5:58 a.m. ET

foxsports

For John Hammond and the Milwaukee Bucks, it was a busy and fruitful couple of hours.

The general manager completed a three-team trade and added two players through the NBA draft, obtaining some much-needed scoring punch for a roster that finished near the bottom of the league last season.

''After it happens, you take a deep breath and hope it works,'' Hammond said Friday. ''But for about 24 hours, you wake up the next day and you're really excited.''

After trading for guards Shaun Livingston, Beno Udrih and Stephen Jackson on Thursday, Hammond used his two draft picks on a pair of forwards, Tennessee's Tobias Harris and Wisconsin's Jon Leuer.

He thinks both players have a chance to make a difference right away.

''We have two great people here,'' Hammond said at a press conference to introduce his two draft picks. ''Both of these guys are going to be very good basketball players, there's no doubt in my mind about that.''

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Harris played just one season at Tennessee and finished second on the team with 15.3 points and led the Volunteers with 7.3 rebounds per game. On a roster that already includes Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova, Harris knows he'll have some work to do.

''I'm just a basketball player,'' said Harris, the 19th overall selection in the draft. ''Wherever position coach wants to put me at, I'll play.''

In Leuer, the Bucks have a versatile big man who can play inside while also able to step back and shoot the 3. In four years under Bo Ryan at Wisconsin, Leuer shot .368 from beyond the arc and was a 48 percent shooter from the field.

At 6-10, 228 pounds, Leuer thinks his versatility makes him a good fit for the Bucks - a team he spent a lot of time watching over the years having grown up in Minnesota and playing in Madison.

''As a 'big,' I feel like I can really stretch the floor,'' said Leuer, the No. 40 pick. ''That's a skill I can really help them out with. I've watched them play quite a bit ... I really like what they do. Playing with a point guard like Brandon Jennings will be a lot of fun.''

Milwaukee finished 35-47 last season, missing the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons.

Coach Scott Skiles said he's looking forward to getting to work with his new players. He's hoping to get out on the court next week and start preparing his players for the upcoming season.

''The day after the draft is always a good day,'' Skiles said. ''You're always optimistic. We're very, very happy they were there and I'm comfortable saying I'm going to enjoy coaching them.''