Not surprisingly, Thursday“s 2 p.m. NBA trade deadline came and went for the Milwaukee Bucks without any further roster tweaking.

The Bucks are still recovering from a myriad of injuries suffered during a disappointing season and they are hopeful that the key players returning from injury will provide enough of a spark to get them to the playoffs.

Aside from the fact that many players would still need to use the handicap-accessible entrance on a plane out of town, Milwaukee was likely reluctant to pull off a deadline deal because it already made a big roster move.

Earlier in the season, the Bucks acquired Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge from Denver in exchange for Steve Blake. At the time, it looked like Bucks general manager Larry Harris got away with theft. Hodge has since been cut though, and Boykins is now buried on the bench while Steve Blake is miraculously playing decent for the Nuggets.

It wasn“t as though the Bucks were the only team keeping quiet on Feb. 22. The trade deadline, usually a time when teams hit the panic button and make blockbuster deals in an effort to save their season, was uncharacteristically dull this year.

Despite rumors of Jason Kidd to L.A., Mike Bibby to Cleveland and Terry Stotts to the unemployment line, there were just two trades Thursday “ highlighted by Portland trading Juan Dixon to Toronto for Fred Jones in a back-up guard swap.

With Thursday“s deadline in the books, the Bucks will take the same team that lost to the woeful Celtics into the second half of the season. Of course, Michael Redd is finally back in the lineup and Charlie Villanueva might even decide to stop making up injuries, hoping to make a late run into the playoffs.

That brings up the question: With the Bucks as bad as they are and next year“s draft expected to be as deep as they come, should Milwaukee lay down and hope for another lucky draw in the draft lottery?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

Though the wounded Bucks are now a full eight games behind the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Michael Redd and his supporting cast are nearly healthy and capable of a late season run. Plus, it is the notoriously weak Eastern Conference.

The Bucks will benefit much more next season with a confidence-boosting end of the season winning streak than with another high draft pick to throw in the mix.

Whatever the case, don“t give up on the 2006-“07 Milwaukee Bucks just yet. Well, maybe give up on Stotts, but not the rest of them.

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