Cavs, Bucks and Oklahoma City get busy in three-way trade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired guard Mo Williams, the Milwaukee Bucks added guard Luke Ridnour and Oklahoma City picked up forward Desmond Mason in a three-way deal on Wednesday, the teams announced.

The Bucks received guard Damon Jones from the Cavs and guard-forward Adrian Griffin and Ridnour from Oklahoma City (formerly Seattle SuperSonics), who obtained Mason from Milwaukee and forward-center Joe Smith from Cleveland.

"Acquiring Mo strengthens our nucleus of players for both the short and long term," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said on the team's website (www.nba.com/cavaliers).

"He is entering his prime NBA years and will be part of the foundation of our future success," Ferry said about adding the former Milwaukee guard to a Cleveland squad featuring league scoring leader LeBron James.

"Mo is a player that excels as a traditional point guard, but also brings an extra dimension with his scoring and versatility."

Williams, 25, averaged 17.2 points in 36.5 minutes last season for Milwaukee and posted career highs in assists per game (6.3), field goal percentage (.480) and free throw percentage (.856).

Ridnour, drafted 14th in the first round of the 2003 Draft by Seattle, averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 assists in 20.0 minutes per game last season. In three previous seasons, he averaged 10.8 points, 6.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds.

Jones returns to Milwaukee, where he played the 2003-04 season, for his 11th season in the NBA, and Griffin will make Milwaukee his sixth team as he enters his 10th campaign.

Mason, an eight-year NBA veteran, averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 59 games for Milwaukee last season and has career averages of 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds.

Smith, a 13-year veteran, helped Cleveland in their playoff run last year by averaging 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 13 postseason games after being acquired late in the season. Over his career, he has averaged 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds.

(Writing by Larry Fine in New York, Editing by John O'Brien )