Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Sign No. 60 Pick Sam Merrill To Two-Year Deal

November 19th, 2020 at 7:36am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: Merrill’s contract is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 19: The last pick in the 2020 draft has become one of the first players to agree to a contract, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks are signing No. 60 selection Sam Merrill to a two-year deal.

Jones says Merrill’s two-year pact will feature about $1.4MM in guaranteed money, including a fully guaranteed first year. It seems safe to assume the former Utah State guard will sign for the minimum, as Milwaukee attempts to keep costs down to fill out the rest of its roster. That’d mean a fully guaranteed $898K salary in year one with a partially guaranteed $1.52MM salary in 2021/22.

Merrill, who spent all four years of his college career at Utah State, averaged 19.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 32 games (35.0 MPG) as a senior, posting an impressive shooting line of .461/.410/.893.

The Bucks are acquiring Merrill’s rights in their Jrue Holiday deal with the Pelicans, which is not yet official. Once the deal is completed and the new league year begins, Merrill will be able to officially sign his first NBA contract.

Bogdan Bogdanovic Plans To Enter Restricted Free Agency

November 18th, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

A sign-and-trade deal that would send Kings swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Bucks appears to be dead, at least for now, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Wojnarowski, the Kings and Bucks had hoped to bring Bogdanovic the framework of their sign-and-trade agreement and negotiate his contract with Milwaukee on Friday. Instead, he’ll enter restricted free agency in search of an offer sheet or other sign-and-trade scenarios, per Woj (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski initially reported late on Monday night that the Kings and Bucks had agreed to a deal sending Bogdanovic and Justin James to Milwaukee in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo. However, Sam Amick of The Athetic reported earlier today that the deal was in peril, since Bogdanovic apparently never agreed to it.

As I wrote in our earlier story, it’s hard to believe that the Kings and Bucks wouldn’t have confirmed that Bogdanovic was on board with the move before it was reported. But it was also unusual that a deal involving a free agent contract was being reported four days before free agency actually began. At this point, it’s unclear whether the deal fell apart as a result of a major communication breakdown or if the NBA got involved due to perceived tampering.

Either way, it’s a major setback for the Bucks. They’re still hoping that a Bogdanovic deal can be saved, but it sounds like he’s ready to move onto other options, according to Amick (Twitter link). Milwaukee is still on track to land Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans, but will have to look elsewhere if they want to try to turn a DiVincenzo package into an impact player.

As for the Kings, if they’re not intent on re-signing Bogdanovic themselves or matching an offer sheet, they’ll likely look to negotiate a sign-and-trade with another club.

No Fans In Fiserv Forum To Start Season

November 18th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks team president Peter Feigin has indicated that the club will not allow any fans into its home arena Fiserv Forum for the start of the 2020/21 NBA season due to strict indoor gathering restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Jabari Young of CNBC. Once fans are allowed inside Fiserv, the arena will exclusively employ mobile ticketing and concessions ordering, per Feigin.

Bucks’ Sign-And-Trade For Bogdanovic In Peril

November 18th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The agreement between the Bucks and Kings that would send Bogdan Bogdanovic to Milwaukee in a sign-and-trade is in peril, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who reports that there was never an agreement from Bogdanovic to join the Bucks.

That element of the deal has become a major issue, according to Amick, who hears from a high-ranking team official that it’s not clear whether the move will be completed when free agency opens. The deal, which was reported late on Monday night, would send Bogdanovic and Justin James to the Bucks in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson, and Donte DiVincenzo.

It’s hard to know what to make of this update. As I pointed out on Monday night when the story broke, it’s very unusual for a deal that involves a free agent changing teams to be reported several days before free agency actually begins. The NBA’s tampering rules would technically prohibit the Bucks from having any contact with Bogdanovic before Friday, so on one hand, a miscommunication wouldn’t be a major surprise.

On the other hand, it’s very unlikely that the Bucks and Kings would have agreed to a deal involving five players and overlooked the fact that Bogdanovic wasn’t fully on board with it. If Bogdanovic never agreed, it’s also odd that there wasn’t any real pushback on Monday’s reporting until now.

As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report observes (via Twitter), it sounds like either someone “badly” messed up or the Kings and Bucks took heat from the NBA for leaking a deal involving a free agent well before the start of free agency and are now trying to walk it back.

Needless to say, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation this week to see if the Bucks, Kings, and Bogdanovic eventually work something out or if it falls apart entirely.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Magic Trade No. 45 Pick To Bucks

November 18th, 2020 at 2:26pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have traded their No. 45 pick in today’s draft to the Bucks in exchange for two future second-rounders, the team’s official PR account tweets.

One of the second-rounders headed to Orlando is a Pacers pick and will be conveyed in either 2022, 2023, or 2024. The other is the Bucks’ second-round pick in 2026. Should MVP forward Giannis Antetokounmpo opt to depart Milwaukee next summer, that pick could end up landing fairly high in the second round.

The Pacers owe their 2021 second-round pick to the Nets, but it has 45-60 protection in both ’21 and ’22, meaning it may not change hands until it becomes unprotected in 2023. The Magic will get a Pacers second-rounder one year after the Nets get theirs.

The Bucks appear to be interested in adding second-round picks this year because, due to a CBA quirk, those picks will only count for $898K against both the luxury tax and hard cap if they sign for the minimum. Undrafted rookie free agents, meanwhile, would count for $898K against the cap but about $1.62MM against the luxury tax.

These small savings are imperative for Milwaukee since the Bucks will lack much wiggle room after their Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic trades are finalized and will likely surpass the luxury tax line, approaching their hard cap.

The Magic also hold the No. 15 selection in today’s draft, while the Bucks also have the No. 60 pick. There are conflicting reports on whether or not Milwaukee will also receive the No. 42 pick from New Orleans in the Holiday deal, which is not yet official.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Bucks Notes: Connaughton, Bogdanovic, Holiday, Assistants

November 18th, 2020 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said he’s had a couple teams with cap room ask him about Bucks free-agent-to-be Pat Connaughton. While Lowe doesn’t necessarily expect a bidding war for Connaughton, he suggests the shooting guard should draw interest for more than the veteran’s minimum, which could make it tricky for the hard-capped Bucks to re-sign him.

Here’s more on Milwaukee:

In that same Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst said it’s his understanding that Bogdan Bogdanovic really wanted to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo and might have been able to get a slightly more lucrative offer elsewhere in free agency. We still don’t know exactly what Bogdanovic’s new deal with Milwaukee will look like, but Windhorst estimated it’ll start in the $14-15MM range.
According to Windhorst, when the Pelicans were discussing trades for Jrue Holiday, gauging Holiday’s interest in a longer-team stay with potential trade partners was part of that process. While nothing has been agreed to yet, Windhorst gets the sense that Holiday is open to an extension (or eventually re-signing in free agency) with the Bucks.
The Bucks announced on Tuesday in a press release that they’ve officially hired Mike Dunlap and Josh Oppenheimer, naming them assistant coaches on Mike Budenholzer‘s staff. A report last month indicated that Oppenheimer – who worked in Milwaukee from 2013-16 would be returning to the franchise. Dunlap, who has spent the last six years as the head coach at Loyola Marymount University, previously had a brief stint as the Bobcats’ coach.

Pelicans To Trade Jrue Holiday To Bucks

November 17th, 2020 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 17, 9:39am: ESPN’s Bobby Marks has the details on the picks headed to New Orleans in the trade, reporting (via Twitter) that in addition to this year’s No. 24 pick, the Bucks will also give up their unprotected first-rounders in 2025 and 2027. The Pelicans will have the right to swap first-rounders with Milwaukee in 2024 and 2026.

In order to ensure the 2025 and 2027 picks are freed up and don’t violate the Stepien rule, the Bucks are sending a future second-round pick to the Cavaliers, who were owed Milwaukee’s 2022 first-round pick. In exchange, the Cavs will agree to lift the top-10 protection on that first-rounder, ensuring it changes hands in ’22, per Marks (Twitter link).

Milwaukee will also receive the No. 60 pick in Wednesday’s draft as part of the deal, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN. That pick was originally the Bucks’ own, but was one of the second-rounders they sent to New Orleans in 2019 for Nikola Mirotic. Now they’ll have it back.

That pick will help the Bucks fill out their roster on the cheap, since a rookie drafted in the second round can likely to be signed to a minimum salary that will only count for $898,310 against the cap and tax.

There are conflicting reports on whether the Bucks will also receive the No. 42 pick in this year’s draft from New Orleans. Eric Nehm of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that the pick is part of the deal, while Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link) has been told that Milwaukee is only receiving No. 60.

NOVEMBER 16, 10:33pm: The Bucks have reached a deal to acquire standout guard Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans will receive Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and draft compensation in return.

That draft compensation is substantial — the Pelicans will receive three future first-round picks from Milwaukee, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). One of those three selections is this year’s No. 24 pick, tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic. New Orleans will also acquire a pair of future draft pick swaps in the deal, per Charania (Twitter link).

Holiday, 30, is coming off a 2019/20 season in which he averaged 19.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG with a shooting line of .455/.353/.709 in 61 games (34.7 MPG) for New Orleans. Although he didn’t earn a spot on one of this season’s All-Defensive teams, he has done so twice in the past and is widely considered one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders.

Acquiring Holiday is an all-in move for the Bucks and general manager Jon Horst, who are trying to convince two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a super-max contract extension to remain with the team long-term. Antetokounmpo has repeatedly stated that he’s interesting in staying in Milwaukee as long as he believes the club is capable of winning a title.

Upgrading their backcourt by acquiring Holiday should make the Bucks – who have posted the league’s best regular season record in each of the last two seasons – an even more formidable title threat. However, the acquisition cost is significant, particularly given Holiday’s contract situation.

The 30-year-old’s deal will pay him $25.9MM in 2020/21 and includes a $26.8MM player option for ’21/22, meaning he can reach free agency a year from now. While Antetokounmpo and Holiday are both eligible to hit the open market and sign elsewhere in 2021, it sounds like the Bucks are betting heavily on their ability to lock up both players to new deals.

On that note, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets that the last couple weeks have been “filled with chatter” about the possibility that Antetokounmpo will sign his super-max offer this offseason. Milwaukee’s willingness to give up so many future assets seems to reflect the team’s optimism, Stein observes.

Holiday’s age and contract situation prompted the Pelicans to explore the trade market in search of a deal this offseason, as president of basketball operations David Griffin looked to acquire pieces that better line up with the timeline of the club’s young core, led by Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

While the Pelicans were reportedly willing to hang onto Holiday if a favorable deal didn’t materialize, a return of three first-round picks and two pick swaps was too appealing to turn down. Having landed a substantial haul in last year’s Anthony Davis trade as well, New Orleans now has five extra first-round picks in future seasons, as well as three pick swaps.

It remains to be seen whether Bledsoe and Hill – both veterans in their 30s who probably aren’t part of the Pelicans’ long-term plans – will spend the season in New Orleans or if the team will look to flip one or both players in subsequent deals.

Bledsoe, a strong defender whose offensive limitations have hurt the Bucks in the last two postseasons, averaged 14.9 PPG, 5.4 APG, and 4.6 RPG on .475/.344/.790 shooting in 61 games (27.0 MPG) in 2019/20. He has three years and about $54MM left on his contract, though his 2022/23 salary ($19.4MM) is mostly non-guaranteed.

Hill, meanwhile, was a reliable rotation player in Milwaukee, averaging 9.4 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .516/.460/.842 in 59 games (21.5 MPG) last season. The 34-year-old has a guaranteed $9.6MM salary in ’20/21 with a lightly guaranteed $10MM salary for ’21/22.

With Holiday off the market, teams like the Nuggets and Nets, who were linked to the veteran guard, will have to look elsewhere for a potential upgrade on the wing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Notes: Bucks, Bogdanovic, Holiday, Kings, Pelicans

November 17th, 2020 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

The deals to acquire both Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic took practically every asset the Bucks had left, but the team now projects to have one of the NBA’s best starting lineups, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who notes that Milwaukee’s new additions will join Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez in the starting five.

As Nehm writes, the Bucks’ aggressive roster overhaul should eliminate any doubt that the franchise is serious about getting Antetokounmpo the help he needs to win a title. However, the acquisitions will leave the club hard-capped and with little flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster.

Because Holiday has a series of likely and unlikely bonuses that count toward the hard cap, the Bucks will probably be limited to minimum-salary contracts as they look to fill out their roster and keep team salary below $138,928,000, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

By my rough calculations, Milwaukee would have about $27.3MM in room below the hard cap to fit in Bogdanovic’s starting salary and minimum-salary contracts for seven players. That would get the Bucks to 14 players, not counting two-ways, though they could carry just 13 for parts of the season in order to create a little more cap flexibility.

Here’s more on the two deals the Bucks agreed to on Monday night:

While former Kings general manager Vlade Divac likely would’ve been willing to match offers in the $15-18MM range for Bogdanovic, it was never clear how enthusiastic new GM Monte McNair was about retaining the swingman, whose camp signaled a “willingness to play hardball” with Kings management, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
The Pelicans‘ decision to move Holiday in a package that includes three first-round picks and a pair of pick swaps is the latest indication that the organization is prioritizing its long-term goals over shortcuts to contention, says Scott Kushner of NOLA.com. Even with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on the brink of stardom, New Orleans is preaching patience and wants to build its roster through the draft, as Kushner explains.
The Pelicans could theoretically flip Eric Bledsoe or George Hill to another team immediately after acquiring them, but they won’t be able to aggregate either player for salary-matching purposes until December 8, tweets Marks. Typically, there’s a two-month gap before a player can be aggregated, but that has been adjusted to account for the shortened offseason. For instance, the Thunder will be able to aggregate the players they acquired for Chris Paul as early as December 5, Marks notes (via Twitter).
Speaking of Paul, the Bucks never engaged in any trade talks for the veteran point guard, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).

Bucks To Acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic From Kings In Sign-And-Trade

November 17th, 2020 at 12:12am CST by Luke Adams

UPDATE: This deal has fallen apart. Read the details here.

The Bucks will acquire restricted free agent swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Kings in a sign-and-trade deal once free agency opens, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Sources tell Wojnarowski that Milwaukee will send Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson, and Ersan Ilyasova to Sacramento in the deal, while the Bucks will also receive forward Justin James from the Kings (Twitter links).

Multiple reports in recent weeks indicated that the Bucks had interest in Bogdanovic and would pursue him in a sign-and-trade scenario. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reiterated that interest tonight in the wake of Milwaukee’s agreement to acquire Jrue Holiday, tweeting that Bogdanovic was also being eyed by the Hawks.

Still, even in the wake of O’Connor’s report, we didn’t expect to learn so early in the week that the Kings and Bucks have already reached an agreement. Since Bogdanovic will technically be a free agent, he and Milwaukee aren’t supposed to have any contact until Friday, so the NBA likely won’t be thrilled that news of this deal has already leaked.

Bogdanovic enjoyed arguably the best season of his three-year NBA career in 2019/20, averaging 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.4 APG on .440/.372/.741 shooting in 61 contests (29.0 MPG). He earned a promotion to the starting lineup in January, displacing Buddy Hield, and helped lead the Kings to a 16-12 record during his 28 games as a starter.

Re-signing Bogdanovic was believed to be a priority for the Kings, so it’s a little surprising that the team is prepared to move him in a sign-and-trade deal. However, former general manager Vlade Divac seemed more committed to the 28-year-old Serbian than new GM Monte McNair.

The Kings’ willingness to move on from Bogdanovic is good news for the Bucks, who have reshaped their lineup with this move and the acquisition of Holiday, putting themselves in a great position to sell Giannis Antetokounmpo on signing a five-year, super-max contract extension this fall.

As for the Kings, they’re likely not viewing Ilyasova’s expiring $7MM contract as a major asset, and Wilson is coming off a disappointing third season. DiVincenzo is the headliner of their package, having averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.8 RPG on .455/.336/.733 in 66 games (23.0 MPG) last year for Milwaukee. He’s a strong perimeter defender who – at age 23 – still has plenty of room to improve and is under contract for two more years before reaching restricted free agency.

It’s not yet clear what Bogdanovic’s new contract with the Bucks will look like, but the deal must span at least three seasons, with a guaranteed first year. Based on Milwaukee’s outgoing salary, he could receive a starting salary of up to approximately $18MM, assuming Ilyasova’s salary becomes guaranteed. However, the Bucks will have to be conscious of the hard cap — as a result of acquiring a player via sign-and-trade, they’ll be unable to surpass a team salary of $138,928,000 in 2020/21.

The base year compensation rule will also apply to Bogdanovic’s new deal and will complicate salary-matching to some extent, though the inclusion of James should prevent it from becoming an issue for Sacramento.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks’ Robin Lopez To Decline Option

November 16th, 2020 at 4:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks reserve center Robin Lopez will decline his $5MM player option and become a free agent, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Lopez, 32, joined Milwaukee on a two-year, $9.2MM deal to back up his brother, Brook Lopez. Robin Lopez appeared in 66 regular season games last season, including five starts, and averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 14.7 MPG. His playing time dropped dramatically in the postseason, as he only made three brief appearances.

Given his age and status as a role player, Lopez might be taking a gamble entering the free agent market. It suggests he’s confident he can get that amount or close to it in the open market or that he’s eager to get more playing time. Lopez had been a starter most of his career before his one-year stint with the Bucks.

Lopez’ decision frees up some much-needed cap space for Milwaukee, which is looking to make upgrades and convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay put.