Earl Boykins traded to the Bucks.

[The Chameleon]

The Denver Nuggets need some breathing space from luxury-tax territory. The Milwaukee Bucks need backcourt scoring to counter their injury crisis.

That's why the teams combined on a trade featuring Earl Boykins on Thursday.

Now 10 games into the Allen Iverson Era, Denver has agreed to send Boykins, little-used guard Julius Hodge and cash to the Bucks for guard Steve Blake.

Elias Says

Earl Boykins

Boykins

Denver traded Earl Boykins to Milwaukee on Thursday. Boykins averaged 10.9 points per game this season (in 20 games) prior to the suspensions resulting from the Knicks-Nuggets brawl. But since the suspensions went into effect, Boykins has averaged 23.2 points per game (in 11 games), the 15th-highest average in the league over that span (Dec. 18 to Jan. 10), and 10th-highest among guards.

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The surging Boykins has scored 20 points or more in eight of his 10 games alongside Iverson, but his shots and minutes were certain to dwindle when Carmelo Anthony returns from suspension on Jan. 22. Denver couldn't resist the opportunity to trade him now given that Boykins will soon be its odd man out and more so because this move ensures that the Nuggets will not be paying luxury tax at season's end.

The Nuggets, sources say, had hoped to keep Boykins for a few more games while Anthony completes his 15-game ban. But they had to make the trade immediately because Milwaukee's $4.3 million injury exception created by Bobby Simmons' season-ending ankle and foot surgeries -- its only mechanism for taking back Boykins' contract in this exchange -- expires Friday.

Blake averaged 3.6 points and 2.5 assists in 33 games for the Bucks this season.

"We're getting a classic point guard," Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien told The Associated Press. "He's an outstanding shooter and solid floor leader."

Boykins' arrival will be a welcome boost to the Bucks, who have lost leading scorers Michael Redd (knee) and Mo Williams (shoulder) to injuries in the past week. Redd is expected to miss at least a month, with Williams sidelined 2-3 weeks. Charlie Villanueva (shoulder) is also out indefinitely and Simmons didn't play a single game this season before it was determined that he'd need two operations.

The Bucks are hoping Boykins' scoring can help keep them in the playoff hunt until Redd and Williams return. The 5-foot-5 dynamo makes $2.95 million this season and is scheduled to earn $3 million next season but has the right to decline his player option and become a free agent July 1.

Milwaukee, sources said, also managed to extract an estimated $700,000 from the Nuggets to pay the remainder of Hodge's $1.2 million salary.

Blake, meanwhile, will get an opportunity to win some back-up minutes in Denver's backcourt, with the Nuggets admittedly looking for pass-first facilitators who can play with Iverson, Anthony and swingman J.R. Smith. The Nuggets also created a $2.95 million trade exception through this transaction because, with Blake being swapped for Hodge, Denver sent out more salary than it received in the trade. The trade exception is good for one year.

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The Bucks really scored on this trade Boykins is awesome.

[afro poppa]

Boykins is a good ball player, with Redd and Charlie V out for awhile (among others..) the Bucks need scoring and I think Boykins can provide that, at least a little. And definately more than the shooting challenged Blake...interesting trade for Denver, Chameleon's right, its definately strictly a salary dump.

[The Chameleon]

When Charlie V and Redd come back with Boykins in the back court they will be a real threat.