This is the time of the year for Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond to put on his trader’s hat.

He has done it every June since joining the Bucks in 2008, sometimes on draft day and sometimes a day or two before the draft.

But he swears this time it might – no promises now – be different.

The Bucks have the No. 12 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft and are hoping to land a rotation player to help them regain their footing in the Eastern Conference. They want to go back to the playoffs, a destination last attained during the 2009-’10 season.

“We have done this over the last couple years. We’ve made a major trade at the draft,” Hammond said. “And to be honest with you, we’re hoping not to do something like that.

“I remember saying (last year), ‘We’re doing too much of this.’ Whatever we can do to improve our team we’re going to do. But we’ve got some pieces we think we can move forward with. We like our team.

“We like Brandon (Jennings) at 1; we like Monta (Ellis) at 2. We like Luc Mbah a Moute. We like Tobias Harris; we like Jon Leuer. We like Drew Gooden; we like Ekpe (Udoh). We like Larry Sanders.

“They’re young players; they’re good players. They have upside. I hope something like that doesn’t happen.

“Once again, it comes back to what is the right thing to do for this organization. If that’s the case, we would do it (a trade). But I don’t foresee that happening.”

via Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel