By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Jun 28, 2012 at 11:00 AM

On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks professed a desire to make a pick at the No. 12 spot in tonight's NBA Draft, happy to decide between the handful of players they project to be there when the pick rolls around.

"We've done this over the last couple, three years – we've made a major trade at the draft and to honest with you we're hoping not to do something like that," Bucks general manager John Hammond said two days ago. "Whatever we can do to improve our team we're going to do, we have to do, (but) we've got some pieces we think we can move forward with. We like our team."

Hammond felt he could improve the team on Wednesday when Yahoo! Sports reported that the Bucks dealt its No. 12 pick and reserves Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman and Shaun Livingston to Houston for the No. 14 pick and 6-foot, 11-inch backup center Samuel Dalembert.

Dalembert will be entering his 11th season and averaged 7.5 points and 7 rebounds per game last year in Houston, but has a $1.5 million buyout, so it's possible the Bucks will just waive his rights.

Trades began piling up league wide in the days prior to the draft, and the Bucks brain trust spent last weekend mulling over all scenarios and contingencies in preparation for any changes to the board in the spots ahead of them. And there could be many changes, depending on how teams feel about their salary cap situation, or their proximity to a championship.

Teams like New Orleans (Nos. 1 and 10) Portland (6, 11), Cleveland (4, 24), Golden State (7, 30) and Boston (21, 22) have two first round picks to play with. The Rockets have three selections (12, 16 and 18).

Who's to say the big men in Los Angeles (the Lakers' Andrew Bynum), Orlando (Dwight Howard) or New Jersey (Brook Lopez) won't be dealt in package deals? What if Sacramento decides to part ways with 2009-10 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, a legitimate scoring guard?

The top and bottom halves of the draft could change considerably in a matter of minutes, which could portend good things for the Bucks with players becoming available – even if they aren't involved in any other trades.

The Bucks moved down for a reason, but may yet be hoping some moves above them are made. In recent history, the No. 14 pick has been nothing short of underwhelming and in all likelihood; the team won't find a player that can make an impact at that spot.

Here is a list of the last 22 players chosen at the No. 14 spot:

1990 – Travis Mays, Sacramento
1991 – Rich King, Seattle
1992 – Malik Sealy, Indiana
1993 – Scott Haskin, Indiana
1994 – Yinka Dare, New Jersey
1995 – Eric Williams, Boston
1996 - Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento*
1997 – Maurice Taylor, Los Angeles Clippers
1998 – Michael Dickerson, Houston
1999 - William Avery, Minnesota
2000 – Mateen Cleaves, Detroit
2001 - Troy Murphy, Golden State
2002 – Fred Jones, Indiana
2003 – Luke Ridnour, Seattle
2004 – Kris Humphries, Utah
2005 - Rashad McCants, Minnesota
2006 – Ronnie Brewer, Utah
2007 – Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers
2008 – Anthony Randolph, Golden State
2009 – Earl Clark, Phoenix
2010 – Patrick Patterson, Houston
2011 – Marcus Morris

That's not a good history, much like that of the 12th pick which boasted the likes of Harold Miner, Cherokee Parks and Melvin Ely.

Hope at finding a quality player at 14 seems to center around, well, some centers.

This draft is particularly deep at that position beginning with Connecticut seven-footer Andre Drummond. Then comes Illinois sophomore Meyers Leonard (7-1), North Carolina senior Tyler Zeller (7-1), Syracuse sophomore Fab Melo (7-0), Duke senior Miles Plumlee (7-1) and Vanderbilt senior Festus Ezeli (7-0).

Then there is the crop of players at 6-10 and 6-11 who may be available at No. 12, including Baylor's Perry Jones, Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie, North Carolina's John Henson and Kentucky's Terrence Jones.

Not all of those players are considered lottery picks, but most are considered first round talent and could come in to play should a lot of movement occur.

"We will have some selections there in terms of players that we'd be happy to come away with," Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney said. "It really has been (tough to narrow down) because we go through the different scenarios and we think this guy's going to be here, no he's not going to go there, we hear this guy is going there. When it comes down to draft day, we'll know."

Despite continually professing a desire to add size since the season ended – a sentiment echoed by head coach Scott Skiles and players under contract – Hammond insisted earlier this week that if a great, smaller player falls – they will be ready to take him.

"Right now, there's the assumption that we're kind of looking into basically a narrow-minded set up of we have to go big," Hammond said.

"There's a need there so obviously that is going to be a discussion and it's going to be somewhat of a priority for us, but at the end of the day I think the old saying that when you walk into a draft you're saying the most important thing is you're drafting talent. I think at the end of the day, when we look at 12, it's going to be who is the best player on the board and we're not going to just be as narrow saying we have to go to a certain position."

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.