By Luke T. Johnson (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-11 10:40

Let's face it - the Bucks are a bad team. After showing surprising signs of life in the first few weeks of the NBA season, the Bucks are in a downward spiral. Prior to their current three-game winning streak, Milwaukee had lost 14 of their previous 16 games, including a near record 45-point drubbing in Detroit to close out 2007. The Bucks brass are faced with the grim reality that something extreme has to happen if the franchise wants to turn things around.

Michael Hunt, a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, says that extreme action is needed sooner rather than later. In a column last week he wrote, "There is nothing beyond Yi Jianlian and Andrew Bogut worth salvaging for a bottom-up restoration. Gutting the team and starting over is the only way to go at this point."

With the NBA trade deadline just over five weeks away, the Bucks are one of many clubs forced to consider their immediate situation in terms of their long-term future. The Bucks remain only two-and-a-half games from a final playoff spot, but they must ask themselves if it's worth spending the next several seasons scrapping for eighth place, or blow the team up and start from scratch.

As Hunt and others suggest, Yi and Bogut are the only untouchables on Milwaukee's roster. Bogut stays because, despite his sluggish development, big men with his raw skill and potential are hard to come by. Yi, also oozing potential and big enough to make a difference, is in a similar boat.

But Yi's value extends beyond the basketball court. "Eazy Yi" is a marketing magnet and in the long run will net the Bucks more cash than a first- or second-round playoff exit ever would. He has boosted Milwaukee's fan base by about a billion, give or take, and is the kind of athlete people adore - high-flying, soft-spoken and silky smooth. Even if Yi doesn't turn out to be the next Dirk Nowitzki, he is an invaluable investment.

Trade winds are also blowing through Houston, where Yao Ming's running mate Tracy McGrady has quietly indicated he'd like to be elsewhere. With five point guards on the roster since the season began, the Rockets seem to have been in the trading market all along. Now, with the mentally and physically fragile T-Mac disgruntled, a blockbuster move looks all the more likely. Since T-Mac has been sidelined with his umpteenth injury, the Rockets have played their best ball of the season. Trading him and building around Yao suddenly makes a lot of sense.

It's not easy replacing a player that can score 13 points in 33 seconds, as McGrady did to close that unforgettable game in 2005 against cross-state-rival San Antonio. But that was a long time ago, and now, for whatever reason, things don't seem to be working out in Houston with T-Mac around.