Players the Milwaukee Bucks gave up on way too soon: No. 4 – Charlie Villanueva
Charlie Villanueva was initially drafted by the Raptors in the 2005 NBA Draft. However, he didn’t start to make waves in the NBA until he was traded to Milwaukee months before his sophomore campaign.
In his three seasons with the Bucks, he built up steadily and steadily until he finally had his breakout year in the 2008-09 season. He averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on nearly 45 percent shooting from the floor.
That year would unfortunately be his last in Milwaukee.
Former general manager John Hammond did not seem to prioritize Villanueva. Instead, he allowed the forward to become an unrestricted free agent while the Bucks decided to keep Ramon Sessions and Ersan Illyasova instead on restricted contacts. Bucks’ management also believed they had something in rookie Brandon Jennings (they did not).
Villanueva went on to have a productive career as a role player with the Pistons and Mavericks, respectively. However, he never again reached the highs of his 2008-09 season with the Bucks. You have to wonder if both parties regret that decision all of these years later.