Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Giannis, Bucks, Carter, Cavs

February 17th, 2021 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

After leading the NBA in regular season wins in each of the last two seasons, the Bucks have had an up-and-down start to the 2020/21 season. The team has now lost its last four games, dropping its record to 16-12, but reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t concerned about the slump, as Eric Woodyard of ESPN details.

“I kind of have a feeling that everybody is in a panic mode, which should not be the case,” Antetokounmpo said.

While the Bucks’ star isn’t ready to panic, he acknowledged that the team has to “be better,” and noted that the absence of Jrue Holiday – who is sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols – has hurt in the last week.

“Obviously, one of our best players on the team and playmakers and best defenders on the team is not playing with us,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, it’s not an excuse. I’m not a guy that gives excuses. But it’s a big part of who we are, and we need him.”

The Bucks haven’t offered any specifics on Holiday’s status, but he has now been out for over a week and the belief is that he registered a positive COVID-19 test.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Tuesday’s game was the first this season in which the Bucks allowed fans into Fiserv Forum. According to a press release, the plan is to increase capacity to approximately 1,800 fans – 10% of the arena’s full capacity – by Sunday.
After missing 11 games due to a quad injury, Wendell Carter Jr. returned to the Bulls‘ starting lineup on Monday. Carter, who beat his projected recovery timeline, said after the game that he felt healthy, but admitted his conditioning could use some work, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “I got winded pretty quickly which I knew was going to happen,” Carter said after logging 21 minutes.
Several Cavaliers players – including J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, Kevin Porter, and now Andre Drummond – have expressed some level of dissatisfaction with the organization in recent years, prompting Jason Lloyd of The Athletic to try to determine why it keeps happening. While Lloyd has no solid answers, he observes that general manager Koby Altman has been a common denominator and questions the front office’s culture-building ability.

Pistons Notes: Griffin, Youth Movement, Ellington, Wright

February 16th, 2021 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s hard to imagine a trade scenario for Blake Griffin, according to a number of staff members on The Athletic. Griffin’s max salary and declining play make it nearly impossible to deal him. Griffin, who will reportedly sit until the Pistons can find a trade partner or buy him out, is a shell of his former All-Star self after multiple knee surgeries, as the story points out his inability to dunk and block shots any longer. The Celtics, Trail Blazers, Nets, Warriors, Lakers, Bucks, Kings and Spurs are all mentioned as possible destinations if Griffin is bought out.

We have more on the Pistons:

If Griffin is able to pick his next destination, the situation will be a win-win for both him and the Pistons, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. GM Troy Weaver can continue to chart his own course with his multi-year rebuilding plan and the team’s younger players, like Eastern Conference Player of the Week Saddiq Bey, can get extended playing time.
Griffin deserves to be remembered fondly by Detroit fans, James Edwards of The Athletic opines. Griffin led the team to the playoffs two seasons ago and continually played through injuries and pain. He showed the city’s trademark grit, diving for loose balls, barking at opponents and taking charges. Griffin gave everything he could to the team until his body betrayed him, Edwards adds.
Given his age and early-season production, Wayne Ellington is the most logical player to be traded, Edwards writes in a separate piece. The Pistons might be able to flip the veteran shooting guard for a second-round pick. Delon Wright‘s versatility to play both guard positions could also make him an attractive trade target. The Sixers are one of the teams reportedly interested in Wright.

Forbes Takes Holiday's Spot In Lineup

February 12th, 2021 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Shooting guard Bryn Forbes has moved into the Bucks’ starting lineup in place of Jrue Holiday, who has been sidelined by the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Holiday will miss his third consecutive game on Friday and it’s unknown how long he’ll be out.

In the Bucks’ first two games without Holiday, Forbes averaged 16 PPG. Forbes holds a $2.45MM option on his contract for next season. Backup point guard D.J. Augustin has remained in that role.

The Bucks have recalled rookie Jordan Nwora from the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, according to a team press release. Nwora appeared in one game with Salt Lake City and scored a game-high 26 points against the Erie BayHawks. The second-round pick has appeared in 10 NBA games, averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 8.2 MPG.

Forbes Releases 2021 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 10th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

It has been an up-and-down 12 months for the NBA, which had to pause its operations for several months when its players first began testing positive for the coronavirus last March. Although the league was eventually able to play the 2020 postseason and is in the midst of its (slightly-abridged) 2020/21 regular season, fans still haven’t been able to return to arenas in many NBA cities, putting a major dent in projected revenues for the coming year.

Despite the financial challenges faced by many of the NBA’s teams, the overall value of those franchises continues to increase, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen and Mike Ozanian of Forbes. While it’s the most modest year-over-year rise since 2010, Forbes estimates that average team values are up by about 4% from 2020.

The Knicks have become the first franchise to earn a $5 billion valuation from Forbes, with a league-high 9% increase in their value since last February. The Warriors, meanwhile, also saw their value rise by 9%, according to Forbes, surpassing the Lakers for the No. 2 spot on the annual report. The league-wide average of $2.2 billion per team in 2021 is a new record for Forbes’ valuations.

Forbes’ valuations are slightly more conservative than the ones issued by sports-business outlet Sportico last month — Sportico’s report featured an average team value of nearly $2.4 billion, with the Knicks, Warriors, and Lakers all surpassing the $5 billion threshold.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

New York Knicks: $5 billion
Golden State Warriors: $4.7 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $4.6 billion
Chicago Bulls: $3.3 billion
Boston Celtics: $3.2 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $2.75 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $2.65 billion
Houston Rockets: $2.5 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $2.45 billion
Toronto Raptors: $2.15 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $2.075 billion
Miami Heat: $2 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $1.9 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $1.85 billion
Sacramento Kings: $1.825 billion
Washington Wizards: $1.8 billion
Phoenix Suns: $1.7 billion
Utah Jazz: $1.66 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.65 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $1.625 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.56 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.55 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.46 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.4 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion

While most franchise values increased, that wasn’t the case across the board. The Thunder, Hawks, Hornets, Pistons, Pelicans, and Grizzlies all maintained the same value that they had in 2020. No teams decreased in value, however.

The Jazz had the biggest rise in the bottom half of this list, moving from 21st in 2020’s rankings to 18th this year. That’s because the team was actually sold to a new majority owner in recent months, with Ryan Smith assuming control of the franchise at its new $1.66 billion valuation.

As that Jazz example shows, the actual amount a team is sold for often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures should just be viewed as estimates.

Jrue Holiday Not Traveling With Bucks To Phoenix

February 9th, 2021 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday was a late scratch on Monday night, having entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols shortly before the team’s game against Denver tipped off. While Holiday’s status going forward remains up in the air, the Bucks indicated after Monday’s contest that he wouldn’t be traveling with the club to Phoenix for Wednesday’s game vs. the Suns, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

A player generally enters the league’s health and safety protocols if someone he has been in contact with tests positive for the virus or if he returns a positive or inconclusive test himself. As Nehm observes, Khris Middleton‘s comments about Holiday after the game suggest this may be a case of the latter.

“Once he tested positive, you immediately think about his health, his safety and then his family back home,” Middleton said of his teammate. “He has little kids too that he has to worry about. So, I think that was a huge part of what was going through my mind before the game. Just thinking about him and his family back home.

“Hopefully, the test may come back negative a couple more times and then it’s just a false positive. Right now, I think that’s the best-case scenario, but I’m sure he’ll be fine no matter what though.”

If Holiday did return a positive test, it’s entirely possible – as Middleton points out – that it could have been a false positive. If that’s the case, registering two negative tests should allow Holiday to be cleared, perhaps even in time for Wednesday’s game.

However, if Middleton is right that Holiday tested positive and that test is ultimately confirmed, the Bucks would be without their starting point guard for at least the next couple weeks or so and could have one or more of their other players tied up in a contact-tracing investigation.

As Nehm notes, the Bucks haven’t run into any major coronavirus-related issues so far this season. Milwaukee’s game on January 22 vs. Washington was postponed, but that was due to several COVID-19 cases among the Wizards. The hope is that Holiday’s time in the league’s health and safety protocols will be brief and won’t affect any of his teammates, but we’ll have to wait for further updates for more clarity.

Holiday Declared Inactive Due To Protocols

February 8th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday was declared inactive on Monday due to the league’s health and safety protocols, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.

Knicks Trade DSJ, Second-Rounder To Pistons For Derrick Rose

February 8th, 2021 at 10:39am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 8: The deal is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 7, 2:50pm: The two teams are in agreement, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The Knicks are acquiring Rose from the Pistons in exchange for Smith and Charlotte’s 2021 second-rounder.

12:11pm: Derrick Rose is set to be reunited with the Knicks and with his former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau. New York is nearing an agreement to acquire Rose from the Pistons in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr. and future draft equity, per James Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Steve Popper of Newsday tweets that the draft pick being sent to the Pistons in the Rose deal will not be the Pistons’ own 2021 second-round pick that the Knicks possess, but could be the 2021 second-round pick that the Hornets owe the Knicks.

News on the exact terms of the trade have yet to be announced. How adding Rose, a savvy veteran scoring point guard with a defined ceiling, will impact the still-developing Knicks’ rotation will be interesting to see. Fan favorite rookie Immanuel Quickley and off-guard Austin Rivers may be especially liable to feel the squeeze, but whether Thibodeau opts to start Rose in place of the more defensively-oriented Elfrid Payton is unclear.

The upstart Knicks are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with an 11-13 record. Offloading future draft picks for a 32-year-old veteran in a move to improve the current on-court product is a curious decision for a club that had very much been prioritizing young players this season. Even All-Star hopeful Julius Randle is only 26.

The Knicks were not the only team in the market for Rose’s services this season. The Clippers, Heat, Bucks, and Nets were apparently all interested in dealing for Rose, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Charania adds (via Twitter) that Rose and the Pistons mutually agreed a trade was in both sides’ best interests. The Knicks had been floated as Rose’s “preferred destination” due to his familiarity with Thibodeau and his tenure with the team in 2016/17, his last season as a full-time starter.

Rose is in the final season of a two-year, $15MM contract he inked with Detroit in the summer of 2019. Across 22.8 MPG, Rose has been averaging 14.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.9 RPG in 15 games for the 5-18 Pistons, the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Smith, meanwhile, has dropped out of the Knicks’ rotation. He has appeared in just three games for the Knicks this season, but could be counted on to play a bigger role for the Pistons. With 2020 No. 7 lottery pick Killian Hayes injured for the immediate future, Delon Wright has assumed Detroit’s starting point guard duties. In the absence of Hayes, two-way rookie Saben Lee had emerged as the the third pure point guard option behind Rose.

Both Rose and Smith will be free agents at season’s end — Smith is eligible for restricted free agency, though it would require a $7MM qualifying offer from Detroit. The Pistons will have his full Bird rights, while the Knicks will have Rose’s Early Bird rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Satoransky, P. Williams, Portis, Love

February 7th, 2021 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Billy Donovan isn’t ready to change his starting point guard, but the Bulls coach expects more playing time for Tomas Satoransky now that he has returned from his second COVID-19 experience, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Satoransky was sidelined earlier in the season due to contact tracing, then tested positive for the virus later. Saturday marked his fifth game back, and his playing time has been gradually increasing.

“I think he’s getting his legs back under him, he’s trying to find himself, but each game I think he’s out there playing I think he’ll be more and more comfortable,’’ Donovan said.

There might be temptation to move Satoransky into the starting lineup in place of Coby White, who’s shooting 40% from the field and struggling as a lead guard, but Donovan remains committed to developing White as the long-term answer at point guard.

“Is it a situation where maybe you bring Sato in a little bit earlier? You stagger those guys? But I’m not at a point where I just say, ‘Hey, listen we’re done with him.’ I wouldn’t do that. I think he’s too important to our team,” Donovan said. “He does compete, I trust him in that area. I just think he’s a guy that’s 20 years old, and there’s going to be some of these moments where he’s going to be up and down.’’

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Bulls drafted Patrick Williams for his defensive prowess, but injuries may force them to rely on him for more scoring, notes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Williams is one of seven rookies in a regular starting role, but he’s only ninth on the team at 29.7 touches per game. “They just say whatever I do, be confident in it 100%,” Williams said. “They have confidence in me in whatever I decide to do, whether it’s drive or shoot. Just whatever I do, be 100% confident and don’t be in the middle.”
Bobby Portis is excelling with the Bucks’ second unit, writes Spencer Davies of Basketball News. Portis, who signed as a free agent during the offseason, enjoys changing the atmosphere of a game. “I think the last three, four years of my career, I’ve kinda found the niche of coming in and bringing energy off the bench,” he said. “Just knowing if the game’s up and down or if our team needs energy, being that sparkplug that the team needs.”
Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, who has been limited to two games this season because of a calf injury, went through a pre-game workout Saturday for the first time in more than a month, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. No date has been set for him to return.

Bucks Send Three Players To G League

February 3rd, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have assigned 2020 draftees Jordan Nwora and Sam Merrill to the G League bubble and transferred two-way player Mamadi Diakite there as well, the team announced today in a press release.

Because the Wisconsin Herd are inactive this season, the three Bucks rookies will be split up, with Nwora joining the Salt Lake City Stars, Merrill reporting to the Memphis Hustle, and Diakite heading to the Lakeland Magic. While any of the three could be recalled to the NBA roster in the coming weeks, we don’t expect to see a ton of the usual back-and-forth this season, given the coronavirus-related complications.

The Bucks have submitted a plan to the City of Milwaukee in the hopes of receiving approval to fill Fiserv Forum to 25% capacity for games starting later this month (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). So far this season, there have been no fans permitted at Bucks home games.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Central Division

January 29th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Central Division:

Wayne Ellington, Pistons, 33, SG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2020

What has gotten into Ellington? Signed to add some depth at the shooting guard spot, Ellington has emerged as a starter and is on the hottest 3-point roll of his career. He’s knocked down at least four long balls and scored at least 16 points in each of the last seven games. Overall, he’s averaging a career-best 13.4 PPG in 24.2 MPG while making 53.2% of his 3-point attempts. Obviously, he’s not going to sustain this pace but at the least, Ellington has shown he can still help a team with his perimeter shooting.

Andre Drummond, Cavaliers, 27, C (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $127.2MM deal in 2016

Sometimes people tend to dwell on a player’s shortcomings and forget about the positives. The Pistons basically gave away Drummond to a division rival last February to clear cap space. Yes, he can’t shoot from outside and he’s brutal at the foul line but what’s so bad about having the best rebounder on the planet on your side? Drummond is averaging a career-high 18.9 PPG with the aid of two young guards breaking down defenses. With the addition of Jarrett Allen, he’s probably not in the Cavs’ long-term plans. He’s not a max player but Drummond is still one of the league’s top big men and he’ll get a strong multi-year contract despite his flaws.

Tomas Satoransky, Bulls, 29, PG/SG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $30MM deal in 2019

Chicago has an interesting dilemma with Satoransky following the season if it’s unable to move him in a trade. His $10MM salary for next season is 50% guaranteed. The Bulls would have to eat $5MM in dead money to cut him loose but Satoransky’s status with the organization has fallen. He was once viewed as its potential solution at point guard. Right now, he’s struggling just to stay in the rotation. If he winds up in the free agent market, Satornasky won’t be viewed as more than a second-unit option.

Bobby Portis, Bucks, 25, PF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $7.4MM deal in 2020

Portis has a $3.8MM player option on his contract for next season. The way he’s playing, he’ll certainly decline it and take his chances on the free agent market. Portis has been a solid addition for a title contender, establishing himself as the team’s sixth man. He’s averaging 10.9 PPG and is second on the team in rebounding (7.7 RPG), while his PER ranks third on the team. Portis’ offensive production has dipped some in the last two weeks but he still had a 21-point outing against Atlanta on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.