Thursday the Bucks made yet another risky move in order to acquire much needed depth at the small forward, when they traded Joe Smith to the Nuggets for Ruben Patterson. This was a questionable move to say the least by GM Larry Harris, who perhaps traded the best “good guy” on the Bucks for the most “unpredictable” player in the league. Harris said he knows Patterson’s path through the NBA has been difficult, but says Patterson’s defensive-minded mentality and playoff experience is exactly what the Bucks are looking for. Patterson has a long list of legal problems, and whether or not he can stay on the court will be his biggest battle. When on the court however, Patterson has had decent success. Last year, he averaged 13 points per game and shot over 51 percent from the field, marking 15th best in the league. Patterson was mainly brought in to provide security at the 3, as small forward has been a position of uncertainty. Other than Bobby Simmons, the Bucks had really no one to pick up the slack last year. As far as Joe Smith goes, he has always been a very consistent player throughout his career, but one could definitely argue that he hasn’t lived up to his #1 pick expectations. Smith hampered a knee injury that kept him out most of the 05-06′ season, and after the addition of Charlie Villanueva at the 4, Smith became expendable. When looking at this trade, I see a player in Patterson who is a definite “boom” or “bust” guy and we will see how this trade will play out. But by trading one of the most respected players in the Bucks locker room and maybe the city for a guy with a history of arrests, I think the Bucks will come out on the short end once again. The Bucks and Larry Harris can only hope that Patterson cleans up his act and focuses just on basketball.