Bucks Sign Nate Ament To Rookie Scale Contract

Tennessee forward Nate Ament, the 13th pick in this year’s draft, has signed a rookie scale deal with the Bucks, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

The selection used to draft Ament was sent from Miami to Milwaukee as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, which didn’t become official until the moratorium lifted on Monday. Ament wasn’t part of the Bucks’ entry in the just-completed California Summer League because he wasn’t under contract.

Ament struggled with his shot during his lone season with the Volunteers, connecting at 39.9% from the field and shooting just 33.3% from three-point range in 35 games. The rest of his stats were impressive as he averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal in 29.7 minutes per night.

Ament’s up-and-down performance left scouts divided on his future during the pre-draft process. At 6’10” with a polished perimeter game, he was considered to be a top-five pick before the season began, but he was seen as more of a long-term project by draft night. He also suffered an ankle/knee injury near the end of the season that limited his effectiveness in the NCAA tournament.

The Bucks were viewed as his “floor” with the 10th pick heading into draft night, but they were able to take Arizona guard Brayden Burries with that selection and still land Ament three picks later.

Ament will receive a little more than $5.5MM as a rookie, with a four-year total of nearly $26MM.

As our tracker shows, there are now just three first-round picks who remain unsigned.