Sources are saying Charlie Villanueva agreed to sign with the Pistons during his official visit to Detroit. He can not officially sign the deal until July 8. Boy is he going to be a very rich man with a reported five-year deal worth $35 million. The Bucks did not offer Villanueva a qualifying offer earlier this week thus making him unrestricted free agent.

The Bucks probably made the right move. Charlie V. is a talent but not worth clogging up the books for five years at $35 million. He poured in 16 a night but that was because Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut were out with injuries thus opening up more shots for Charlie V.

Villanueva has the talent to be a legit number two scorer but at the same time he is a volume scorer. He is going to need a lot of shots to get to that point. Quite frankly, the Bucks will not have those shots to accommodate him. At least, not with Redd coming back (and his contract practically unmovable) and not with the need to finally feed Bogut in the post so he can take the next step forward in his career. The Bucks just can not afford a number three scorer at a $35 million dollar price tag especially when John Hammond and Scott Skiles are heck bent on building a championship caliber team.

To do that, the Bucks need to put their money in more sound investments. Investments like Ramon Sessions who is pretty much a certain to be the point guard that Skiles is looking for. A guy that is willing to pass the ball, slash to the rim and play defense. Things that Charlie V. did not really feel comfortable doing a whole lot.

Even when the Bucks want to take a gamble, they will have to stick to the five dollar tables instead of the high rollers table. For example, it is cheaper to take a gamble on Brandon Jennings or Joe Alexander than Charlie V. Jennings has the potential to be the face of the franchise. He has that much potential although he does have the potential to burst like a balloon flying through a ceiling fan. The key is he will cost less to find out if he will be a superstart or the next bust in a long line of Milwaukee Bucks draft busts.

It is still sad to see Charlie V go. He was a good guy to talk to in the locker room. He really did come to enjoy this city. You would see him out on the town after games. He took in Brewers game in full Brewers garb. He even liked to take in a Marquette game every now and again.

The Bucks have to do what is in the best interest of keeping this team relevant in this city. Paying Charlie Villanueva $35 million to see if he could do that is a gamble that the Bucks just can not afford at this time.