Bucks Saying Goodbye to Villanueva Tough, but the Right Choice

A couple of days ago, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they were giving qualifying offers to point guard Ramon Sessions and forward Ersan Ilyasova, making them both restricted free agents.  This means that any team will be able to offer them contracts, but the Bucks can match them and retain the players. What the offers to Session and Ilyasova also means is that power forward Charlie Villanueva, 24, becomes an unrestricted free agent and will not be returning to the Bucks next season.  Villanueva played three seasons for the Bucks where he averaged 13.5 points per game. Last year, Villanueva took over the reigns, along with Richard Jefferson, when Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut went down with season-ending injuries.  Villanueva will draw many offers as a free agent, with Detroit and Cleveland being two possibilities. Many Bucks fans did not understand why general manager John Hammond would trade Richard Jefferson for very little and then let Charlie Villanueva go despite ... (link)