Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Notes: Holiday, Portis, Ham

April 5th, 2021 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jrue Holiday‘s contract extension includes $4.1MM in bonuses currently deemed likely and $20.9MM in unlikely bonuses, Eric Nehm of The Athletic reports. The guaranteed salary adds up to roughly $135MM through the 2024/25 season.

The contract includes a player option in the fourth and final season. He received a 20% raise from his $25.1MM base salary this season. From there, the extension gives him an 8% raises on his first-year base salary.

With Holiday locked up along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, it will be nearly impossible for the Bucks to create cap space to sign significant free agents. Instead, they will have to using cap exceptions and offer minimum contracts, Nehm adds.

We have more on the Bucks:

Holiday’s contract will make it nearly impossible to retain Bobby Portis, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. Portis has a $3.8MM option on his contract for next season and is likely to opt out. Milwaukee won’t have access to its full mid-level exception next year and that will remain the case should the front office extend Donte DiVincenzo close to his market rate, Hollinger adds.
Holiday already feels like a part of the Bucks’ family and didn’t have to be persuaded to sign the extension, according to an ESPN story. “I’m really not the type to be wooed and all that,” he said. “I don’t need to be courted or whatever, but it felt good to be appreciated. It felt good to be wanted.”
Darvin Ham had discussions with Texas Tech, his alma mater, about its head coaching position but opted to stay on Milwaukee’s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Ham plans to stay in the NBA and pursue a head coaching job. He was a finalist for the Pacers’ head coaching job last fall and also interviewed for the Clippers’ head coaching position.

Jrue Holiday Signs Four-Year Extension With Bucks

April 4th, 2021 at 1:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

1:17pm: The Bucks have announced (via Twitter) that Holiday’s extension is now official.

11:34am: The Bucks have reached an agreement on a four-year maximum extension with guard Jrue Holiday, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Agent Jason Glushon confirms the deal, which could be worth as much as $160MM.

Holiday has been considering the extension since being acquired in a November trade, Charania adds (via Twitter). He wanted to get more familiar with the roster, coaching staff and front office before making a commitment. Charania notes that Milwaukee now has long-term deals with its three stars: Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton (Twitter link).

The agreement means Holiday will bypass an opportunity to become a free agent this summer. His current contract contained a $26.765MM player option for next season.

Holiday, 30, has been considered one of the NBA’s top two-way players for several years, but Milwaukee provides his best chance to compete for a title since he entered the league in 2009. He’s averaging 17.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a league-best 1.8 steals per game in his first season with the Bucks.

The first season of a veteran contract extension can have a starting salary worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary. Although Holiday has a cap hit of just $25,876,111 in 2020/21 for the time being, that figure doesn’t account for a handful of incentives, which bump up his maximum starting salary further.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the four-year extension has a base value of about $135MM, which means it’ll start at approximately $30.13MM. It can be worth up to a total of $160MM with incentives, though Holiday is unlikely to earn all those bonuses.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Buyout Market, Epps, Stephenson, Ujiri, Ham

April 3rd, 2021 at 1:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

When the NBA and NBA Players’ Association hold CBA renewal talks, the league plans to consider bringing up buyout reform as part of a broader discussion, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Some team executives have complained about the plethora of veteran players getting buyouts and joining playoff contenders.

Commissioner Adam Silver‘s office doesn’t see it as an issue of fairness between big and small markets, but rather a process that is contradictory to the financial system’s goals. In the league’s view, teams with big payrolls are adding an impact player without a dramatic impact on their luxury tax penalties, since those salaries after clearing waivers are usually prorated minimums.

The NBA would also like to find a way to make players who have been bought out available to more teams than just the contenders.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Aaron Epps has signed in Israel with Elitzur Eito Ashkelon, sources told Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (Twitter link). Epps holds G League experience with the Northern Arizona Suns and Canton Charge, most recently playing with Canton in the bubble.
Veteran NBA swingman Lance Stephenson is hopeful of playing in the league again, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets. He has been working out in New York for the last few weeks, in case a suitor comes calling. The 30-year-old last played in the NBA with the Lakers in 2019.
There’s some speculation around the league that Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri may eventually wind up in Seattle if the league approves a new franchise, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. The group heading expansion efforts in Seattle includes longtime sports executive Tim Leiweke, who hired Ujiri as Toronto’s executive vice president and GM in 2013.
Texas Tech has received permission to interview Bucks assistant Darvin Ham for its head coaching vacancy, Wojnarowski tweets. Ham led the school to the Sweet 16 in 1996 and played in the NBA from ’96 to 2005.

Bucks Remain Slightly Under Tax Line

April 2nd, 2021 at 8:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Even with the addition of Jeff Teague to fortify their backcourt, the Bucks still have a little breathing room under the luxury tax line, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Marks calculates that Milwaukee is $737,439 below the tax after taking a $510,589 cap hit on Teague, who was signed this week. Teague was traded by Boston to Orlando and then waived. The Bucks still have another roster spot open, should they choose to add another player.

Bucks Sign Jeff Teague

April 1st, 2021 at 1:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 1: The Bucks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Teague.

MARCH 29: Free agent point guard Jeff Teague will sign with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Teague was waived by the Magic over the weekend after they acquired him as a salary throw-in to complete the Evan Fournier trade with the Celtics.

Teague, 32, signed a one-year deal with Boston during the offseason. He appeared in 34 games, including five starts, and averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.1 APG in 18.1 MPG while shooting 41.5% from the field.

For his career, Teague has averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.3 RPG in 805 games for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves and Celtics.

With Milwaukee, he’ll add some depth at the point behind Jrue Holiday and will reunite with former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.

The Bucks have an open roster spot for Teague. They were seeking to fortify their guard depth after trading reserve point guard D.J. Augustin to Houston in the deal that brought veteran forward P.J. Tucker to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee will have one more opening on its 15-man roster after signing Teague, so the move doesn’t rule out the possible addition of Austin Rivers.

Teague Just Needs To Be Competent Reserve

March 30th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeff Teague will have a much different role with the Bucks than he did in Atlanta with Mike Budenholzer as his head coach, Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes. Milwaukee simply needs him to be a competent backup point guard for 10-15 minutes in postseason games. Teague has agreed to join the Bucks after being waived by the Magic.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

March 30th, 2021 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 46 players were traded on deadline day last Thursday, and more have been waived and signed since then, resulting in major roster upheaval around the NBA.

With the dust settling a little, it’s worth checking in on which teams across the league now have open roster spots, and which clubs will need to fill at least one of those openings soon in order to meet the minimum roster requirements.

Let’s dive in…

Teams with two open spots on their 15-man rosters:

Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors

The NBA allows team to carry fewer than 14 players on standard (or 10-day) contracts for up to two weeks at a time. So these clubs are allowed to have just 13 for now, but will soon need to add a 14th, either with a 10-day signing or a rest-of-season addition.

The Warriors, Heat, Trail Blazers, and Raptors all dipped below 14 players on deadline day (March 25), so they’ll all have until next Thursday (April 8) to get back up to the required roster minimum. The Knicks will have even longer, since they just waived Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier on Sunday — they’ll have to add a 14th man by April 11.

The Pelicans and Clippers, meanwhile, reduced their roster counts to 13 players on March 20 and March 22, respectively, so they’ll need to make their moves sooner. New Orleans will have to add a player by this weekend at the latest, while the Clippers will do so by next Monday.

The Pels are right up against the luxury tax line, so they’ll likely sign someone to a 10-day contract. The Clippers have enough breathing room below their hard cap to complete a rest-of-season signing if they so choose.

Teams with one open spot on their 15-man rosters:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic

A report last Thursday indicated that the Pacers were signing Oshae Brissett, but they still have completed that 10-day deal, so they have an open roster spot for now. The Bucks technically have two open roster spots as of this writing, but are expected to sign Jeff Teague to fill one of them as soon as today.

The Lakers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Magic all have 14 players on standard, rest-of-season contracts, with no obligation to fill their 15th spots anytime soon. The Cavaliers currently have 14th man Quinn Cook on a 10-day contract. When his deal expires on Wednesday night, the team will dip to 13 players and will have two weeks to re-add a 14th.

Teams with open two-way contract slots:

Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

The Thunder opened up one of their two-way slots when they promoted Moses Brown to the standard roster over the weekend. I’d expect them and the Timberwolves to be more interested in filling their open two-way spots than the Suns and Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are lottery teams and could benefit from a look at one more young player, while Phoenix and Portland are playoff clubs that have shown no desire to add a second two-way player all season long.

Also worth mentioning:

Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons
San Antonio Spurs

The Nets, Spurs, and Pistons currently have full 15-man rosters, but won’t for much longer, as all three teams have players on 10-day contracts. Alize Johnson‘s deal with Brooklyn runs through Wednesday, while Cameron Reynolds‘ with San Antonio runs through Sunday and Tyler Cook‘s with Detroit expires after next Tuesday.

Note: Our full roster count breakdown can be found right here.

Portis Enters COVID-19 Protocols

March 28th, 2021 at 2:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks reserve big man Bobby Portis has been sidelined since Milwaukee’s game Friday against the Celtics as a result of the league’s COVID-19 protocols, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Austin Rivers Waived By Thunder, Eyeing Bucks

March 28th, 2021 at 1:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

1:01pm: Rivers has officially been waived, the Thunder have announced in a team press release.

12:22pm: After being dealt from the Knicks to the Thunder as part of the three-team trade that sent point guard George Hill to the Sixers, combo guard Austin Rivers has been waived by Oklahoma City, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). With the move, the Thunder will now have an available roster spot.

Charania, Eric Nehm and Seth Partnow of The Athletic write that the Bucks appear to be the frontrunners in the quest to add Rivers, should he clear waivers in free agency. Milwaukee is seeking to fortify its point guard depth after sending reserve point guard D.J. Augustin in a deal for veteran forward P.J. Tucker.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe first identified Milwaukee as a potential landing spot for Rivers last Monday, while Eric Nehm of The Athletic highlighted the possibility of Rivers being a target for the Bucks following the trade deadline.

Rivers joined the Knicks in the offseason on a three-year, partially guaranteed $10MM contract in a sign-and-trade. He appeared in 21 games for New York, averaging 7.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.6 SPG in just 21.0 MPG.

The 6’4″ veteran guard lost his rotation spot to Derrick Rose once the Knicks added the former MVP in a trade with the Pistons. Rivers has not suited up since February 13.

Brandon Knight Works Out For Bucks

March 28th, 2021 at 11:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran guard Brandon Knight had a workout with the Bucks on Saturday, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

Knight has overcome the knee issues that have plagued him for the past few years and has regained much of his explosiveness, Spears adds. Bucks officials also attended a workout that Knight had earlier this year in Miami, and they are considering signing a guard with their open roster spot.

Knight, 29, spent a season and a half with Milwaukee before being traded in 2015. He played nine years in the NBA and had short stints last season with the Cavaliers and Pistons, averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 assists in 25 total games.