Wednesday Bucks Notes

• Charles Gardner with details on the ongoing Charlie Bell discussions.

  "We're still talking and a good dialogue is going on," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said on Tuesday. "I would say progress is being made, and hopefully something will be done soon. "We're trying to financially get to a number where we both can be happy."

  Read: a deal will probably get done soon. The Bucks have brought in some free agents to work out, including former Jazz and Illinois PG Dee Brown, but the bottom line is Bell is far more valuable than anyone they can find on the street right now.
  
• Over at the JS Forum there's a thread detailing two conference calls today with Jim Paschke and Larry Krystkowiak. All the details seem fairly reasonable, save for the part about Andrew Bogut being up to 270 pounds and that being a good thing. Last year Bogut showed up supposedly around 255 but he lost a step and didn't carry the added weight particularly well. Over the course of the season he shed some of those pounds and looked a lot more comfortable, once again being able to face up and beat guys off the dribble, especially to his left. A guy like Bogut needs to build core strength more than pure upper body bulk, so if he is heavier hopefully it's because he's strengthened his base. But I'm not sure how likely that is, especially given he was recovering from his foot injury at the beginning of the summer. Still, some good tidbits in there.
• Word is Damir Markota has signed with Spartak St. Petersburg.