The NBA trade deadline is 2 p.m. today and fans of the Bucks and Bulls are wondering how their respective GMs — John Hammond and John Paxson — can remake their teams to bring them closer to a championship level.

On Wednesday, the Bulls dealt Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden to the Kings for a young scoring forward John Salmons and veteran post player Brad Miller. The team has also been linked to discussion around dynamic post players like Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire or Toronto’s Chris Bosh.

The Sporting News reported earlier this week that the injury-ravaged Bucks would like to trade Richard Jefferson (and possibly Luke Ridnour) with Portland being a partner. Reports on ESPN have the San Antonio Spurs sniffing around Jefferson as well.

Teams pursue trades for one of three reasons at the deadline:

1. To acquire the final piece for a championship run.

2. To collect pieces that will help a championship run in the near future.

3. Money. To obtain expiring contracts for equal-valued contracts that have a longer term.

If the Bucks deal Jefferson, it will be for No. 3.

An up-and-down performer in Milwaukee, Jefferson has provided consistent scoring after the injuries to Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Ridnour. But R.J. has 2½ years and roughly $35 million left on his contract.

The Bucks have a firm grasp on the No. 8 playoff spot and could climb as high as No. 6 with or without Jefferson. When Bucks fans look at a possible deal, they should ask one question: Are the Bucks better with Richard Jefferson or the combination of soon-to-be free agents Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva?

Put me down for the latter.

*The most-coveted: Any team that trades with Portland is going to want Raef LaFrentz in return. Yes, he’s still playing and I use that term loosely. He hasn’t stepped onto the court this season because he’s not an NBA talent anymore. He’s the most sought after player at the deadline because his $13 million contract comes off the books at the end of the season.

*Bucks history: Bucks fan knows the Gary Payton for Ray Allen 2003 deadline fiasco. The Bucks got Desmond Mason and Payton for a half-year, while Allen starred in Seattle. The Sonics also got Ronald “Flip” Murray and a draft pick that turned out to be Ridnour.

Milwaukee fans are quick to forget trade victories.

The 1999 deadline saw the Bucks make two separate deals — netting Tim Thomas, Scott Williams and Sam Cassell for Tyrone Hill, Terrell Brandon, Elliot Perry and Jerald Honeycutt. Two years later, Milwaukee was in the Eastern Conference finals. No word what Honeycutt is up to now.

*Book it (5-4): The UW-Parkside women’s basketball couldn’t pull off an upset at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, but the Rangers did come through with a two wins for my book it record. Parkside thumped winless Saint Joseph’s last Thursday and bested Bellarmine on Saturday.

This week, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team will extend its streak to five with a win at Indiana tonight.

Mike Larsen is a sportswriter for the Kenosha News. E-mail him at mlarsen@kenoshanews.com