Bucks Sign Ruffin

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed forward Michael Ruffin.

"Michael has made a career out of being a high-character, high-energy player who does the little things to help his team," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. "He is a very good rebounder and excels on the defensive end of the court."

Ruffin is indeed a defensive-minded player who is very low on offensive ability.

He’s also the guy who threw the ball up in the air a little too early in a game last year, costing the Washington Wizards a win in the thick of the playoff race:

“The Wizards appeared to have a victory secured until Michael Ruffin's celebratory heave toward the rafters landed in the hands of Raptors guard Morris Peterson, whose 3-pointer from 31 feet tied the score at 109 as the horn sounded ending regulation.”

His assist to Peterson was one more assist than he had to his own team in that game. He also managed to not score in 26 minutes.

To be fair, that’s not exactly a fair representation of a typical Ruffin game.

For an end-of-the-bench type, he’s a solid player, because like Harris said, he can rebound and play defense. Particularly on the Bucks, those are valued, all-too-often missing attributes.

However, considering the Bucks already signed Jake Voskuhl this summer, there won’t be many minutes available for Ruffin. In fact, he’s probably on the outside looking in at an active roster spot.