When the Bucks select at No. 8 in the 2003 NBA Draft on June 26, the Glenn Robinson-Toni Kukoc trade with Atlanta will finally be put to rest. With the selection, the Bucks can hopefully put a couple of other longstanding bugaboos behind them, as well.

The Bucks were basically run out of the playoffs by one man -- Kenyon Martin. Sure, Jason Kidd did a lot of running, too, but his passes often ended up in the hands of Martin, whose fast-break dunks, rebounding dominance and solid free throw shooting helped eliminate the Bucks in six hard-fought games.

Translation: the Bucks need an inside presence, and fast. The team hasn't had a legitimate inside post player since Jack Sikma. Disagree? Who do you want? Alton Lister?

Secondly, while the All-American Nets may be an exception, the foreign invasion and revolution within the NBA is in full swing. The Mavs are led by 7-foot stud Dirk Nowitzki. San Antonio has developed into the best team in the league partially due to shooting guard Emanuel Ginobili. The Kings are powered offensively by 6-10 shooters Hedo Turkoglu and Peja Stojakovic.

The Bucks haven't hit paydirt with foreign-born talent yet, but Kukoc (a Croatian, though such an NBA veteran that he feels almost native at this point) may have been the team's best player last year. The fundamentals, shooting and overall skill level of international players has vastly improved the NBA talent level in the last half-dozen years, but the Bucks have yet to join the trend.

They almost did. In the 1998 Draft, Milwaukee snatched Nowitzki at No. 9 before packaging him off to Dallas in a deal that netted chronic underachiever Robert Traylor. The pick was nearly the type of courageous move that could have established the Bucks as a 50-win team for the next 10 years.

Coach George Karl and general manager Ernie Grunfeld will try to erase that memory at No. 8 next month. While Karl wants to get second-year men Marcus Haislip and Dan Gadzuric over 1,000 minutes each next year, a big man with upside has to be an alluring possibility.

The best big man in the draft also happens to be European -- 17-year-old Yugoslavian Darko Milicic. The 7-footer is a Nowitzki clone and should get snatched at either No. 2 (Detroit) or No. 3 (Denver), with Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony acting as the consolation prize.

There are a couple of solid American center prospects available, 7-0 Chris Kaman of Central Michigan and 6-10 Chris Bosh of Georgia Tech. Kaman is more of a natural pivot while Bosh is a versatile threat who made nearly half his 3-point attempts as a freshman for the Yellow Jackets. Both should be wearing new hats and have already posed with David Stern by the time the Bucks select at No. 8.

Maciej Lampe, a 7-footer from Poland whose pro rights currently belong to Real Madrid in Spain, might be available and a good fit. Like Milicic, he's compared most often to Nowitzki, primarily because there are no quality American comparisons available. He's just 18-years old, but he's 250 pounds and not a total project. His release is fluid and his range extends well beyond the 3-point arc. He hasn't developed a major inside presence and isn't known as a defender, but he has the body and skill set to grow into both roles.

ESPN.com lists Lampe as the second-best "small" forward in the draft behind Carmelo Anthony. The first thought is the Bucks don't need another soft big man who likes to hang around the perimeter. But they certainly wouldn't mind a Nowitzki-esque talent that could run the floor and grab 10-11 rebounds a game, either.

With the acquisition of Desmond Mason and the promise of increased minutes for Haislip and Gadzuric, Karl and Grunfeld are attempting to change the identity of the Bucks from a shooting-centric team to an athletic, slashing one. Lampe fits that bill, but like Nowitzki, he probably won't fully contribute until at least year two, and probably not truly until he's of legal drinking age in the States.

But before we start mobilizing the Polish Bucks community for various Draft night parties, another question must be answered. What about Gary Payton? Karl may beg to differ, but Payton appears ready to be anywhere but the Bradley Center next season. A sign-and-trade deal is the most likely possibility, leaving the Bucks with Sam Cassell both at the point and on the trading block once again.

With that in mind, would the Bucks take a point guard at 8? If Texas phenom T.J. Ford lasted that long, he'd certainly create doubt about selecting a Polish teenager in the top 10. But Ford will likely get selected somewhere between 4-7. Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich has also been mentioned as a possibility for Milwaukee. He has great range, good size for a point (6-3) and played for a fast-breaking team in college that Karl is trying to emulate at the next level.

Hinrich is nice, but the Bucks must think big, both physically and figuratively. Late Top 10 selections have yielded major talents in the past. Including Nowitzki at No. 9, Tracy McGrady (No. 9, 1997), Paul Pierce (No. 10, 1998), Shawn Marion (No. 9, 1999) and Amare Stoudemire (No. 9, 2002) are all impact players selected in the same range.

Milwaukee has a stable of solid, mid-sized players (Desmond Mason, Michael Redd, Tim Thomas, Haislip) that Lampe could both complement and elevate within 2-3 years. Taking him at No. 8 could prove to be a big mistake, but it's time for the Bucks to either get involved internationally or get left behind. If he's available, Lampe is worth the risk.