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Bucks Agree To Extend GM Jon Horst’s Contract

April 24th, 2025 at 10:42am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with general manager Jon Horst, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

This will end any speculation that the Bucks’ ownership group was contemplating a change at the top of its front office chain. Horst has been the Bucks’ GM since 2017. During that span, the team has made the playoffs in all eight seasons and has a .647 winning percentage, second-best in the league.

The Bucks won the 2021 championship but haven’t gone deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs since that run. They lost in the conference semifinals in 2022 and were knocked out in the first round in each of the past two seasons. They currently trail Indiana 2-0 in their opening-round series.

There had been speculation that Suns owner Mat Ishbia might pursue Horst if he were made available. Milwaukee denied Detroit permission to interview Horst for their top executive job last summer before the Pistons chose Trajan Langdon.

There has also been speculation that Giannis Antetokounmpo might want out of Milwaukee if the Bucks flame out in the postseason again. Horst made the blockbuster deal for Damian Lillard in 2023 after Antetokounmpo publicly wondered whether they had a championship-level roster.

This winter, the 42-year-old Horst commented on his feelings about keeping Milwaukee among the top contenders for the title.

“It’s still the awesome responsibility to try to take this franchise and maximize the window that we have now as best we can,” Horst said. “What we think gives us the best chance to win, and figure out how to continue winning going forward. There’s a very narrow set of opportunities that we felt that we could do that, and this was one of them.”

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Eastern Notes: Bucks, Lillard, Pritchard, Holiday, Beasley

April 23rd, 2025 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

After seeing his starters get thoroughly outplayed in the first two games of their first-round series vs. Indiana, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers is considering the idea of tweaking the lineup for Game 3, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Whether it’s the personnel or the approach, something has to change on Friday, Rivers acknowledged.

“We’ve gotten off to two poor starts, and we’ve got to make an adjustment there, for sure,” the Bucks said following Tuesday’s Game 2 loss. “We’ll just see. We have time. We have 48 hours. I’m not gonna tell you what I’m doing right now because I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out, I’m very confident about this series. Very.”

The Bucks started Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Kyle Kuzma, and Taurean Prince alongside Ryan Rollins in Game 1, with Damian Lillard replacing Rollins in Game 2. Those two units were the most frequently used Milwaukee lineups after the All-Star break, but they haven’t been effective so far in the playoffs — the starters were outscored by 15 points in about 17 minutes in Game 1 and by nine points in 16 minutes in Game 2.

“We don’t want to put ourselves in a hole early in the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think we’ve done it in two games. We also did it in the third quarter. It’s hard to play from behind. We just gotta be smarter the way we play, be more urgent when we start the game; hopefully we can be the one to set the tone and not them.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • In his first game back after being sidelined for over a month due to a blood clot, Lillard played 37 minutes on Tuesday and said he “felt pretty good,” though he acknowledged he still needs to work a little more on his cardio, per Michael Marot of The Associated Press. “I got a little winded, but I think everyone got a little winded,” said Lillard, who had 14 points and seven assists in the Bucks‘ Game 2 loss. “I wasn’t really thinking about if I was tired, it was just like I’m out here and I’ve got to do what I got to do.”
  • Celtics guard and newly minted Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard made a compelling case for an increased role by scoring 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes of action in Sunday’s Game 1 win, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. Pritchard is a strong candidate to get a minutes bump in Game 2 on Wednesday with Jayson Tatum considered doubtful to play.
  • Whether or not Tatum is available, the Celtics would like to see more of the Jrue Holiday they got in Game 1, according to Jay King of The Athletic. Holiday took another step back on offense this season, posting his lowest scoring average (11.1 PPG) since his rookie year in 2009/10, but he has found many other ways to contribute. On Sunday, he made a trio of three-pointers and racked up three steals, prompting teammate Al Horford to tell reporters that Holiday “changed the game” with the energy he brought in the third quarter. “That’s the Jrue I love, you know what I mean?” Jaylen Brown added. “That’s the Jrue I remember competing against.”
  • Pistons wing Malik Beasley has been sued by Daniel Hazan, his former agent, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The lawsuit alleges that Hazan’s agency paid Beasley a $650K advance on future marketing revenue and that the veteran swingman breached their agreement by signing with a new agency in February, Vorkunov explains, adding that Hazan is seeking $1MM.
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Community Shootaround: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Future

April 23rd, 2025 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Through the first two games of the Bucks‘ first-round series vs. Indiana, Most Valuable Player finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up absolutely massive numbers, including averages of 35.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per night on 65.1% shooting.

But he has gotten little help from his teammates in either game. Milwaukee has been outscored by 29 points when Antetokounmpo is on the floor and dropped both contests in Indiana. The Bucks are now heading back home facing a 2-0 deficit in the series.

In both 2023 and 2024, the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the postseason without Antetokounmpo, who was unable to suit up due to injuries. With their star forward healthy and available this spring, the Bucks had higher expectations and haven’t given up on achieving them — the series is hardly out of reach if Milwaukee can defend its home court in Games 3 and 4.

However, the Pacers have looked like the better team so far, overwhelming the Bucks with their fast-paced offensive attack and creating a difficult hole for Milwaukee to climb out of.

Point guard Damian Lillard has only just returned from a month-long absence due to a blood clot in his calf and doesn’t look like he’s in peak form, while trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Kuzma hasn’t been particularly effective through two games, scoring just 12 total points on 5-of-15 shooting and grabbing three rebounds in 52 minutes of action.

As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), a third consecutive first-round exit would be a disaster for the Bucks, who posted their lowest regular season winning percentage (.585) since 2017/18, have been a taxpaying team for several years, and no longer have the assets to pursue major roster upgrades. It would also lead to serious scrutiny of Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee.

“Giannis has been just awesome this season,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “He has clearly understood that they’re challenged. And he has cut the BS out of his game and cut the fat out of his game and tried doing everything he can to carry this team, and they’re just not good enough. What is he supposed to do?

“This is the elephant in the room in the league right now. This team is losing tens of millions of dollars. They’re out all their draft picks. (Brook) Lopez and (Bobby) Portis are free agents.”

Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon followed up by describing the Bucks’ future as “bleak” and suggesting that Antetokounmpo may have to decide soon whether he wants to be a player who spends his entire career with one franchise or if he wants to move to a situation where he’d have a better chance to compete for more titles while he’s still in his prime.

Even if the Bucks are eliminated by the Pacers in the coming days, that decision doesn’t necessarily need to be made this summer. Antetokounmpo remains under contract with the Bucks for at least two more years, with a player option on his contract for the 2027/28 season. And Windhorst stresses that there’s no indication the two-time MVP is looking for an exit ramp.

“From talking to people in and around Milwaukee, Giannis has given no indication throughout this entire season that he is not 100% focused on maximizing what the Bucks have,” Windhorst said. “This (speculation) is people in the league looking at the lay of the land, not anything that Giannis has said to anybody.”

Still, it’s not uncommon for situations like this one involving star players to reach a head well before the player reaches free agency. “This is what people in the league are talking about as they’re watching these series,” Windhorst added.

The Nets, armed with significant cap flexibility and a huge collection of extra first-round picks, have made no secret of the fact that they’re prepared to make a major push for Antetokounmpo if the Bucks are open to considering a trade — reports for the better part of a year have indicated he’s Brooklyn’s “Plan A.” But they’d have plenty of company if Giannis ever ends up on the trade block.

We want to know what you think. Can the Bucks come back and win this first-round series vs. the Pacers? If not, will this offseason represent a tipping point for Antetokounmpo’s future or will he remain committed to Milwaukee going forward?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the outlook for Giannis.

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Haliburton Shrugs Off ‘Overrated’ Label, Addresses Pacers/Bucks Animosity

April 23rd, 2025 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

When The Athletic anonymously asked 90 players around the NBA which player is the most overrated in the league, no one received more votes (13) than Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Asked about those poll results after The Athletic published them on Tuesday, Haliburton made it clear he wasn’t fazed.

“I must be doing something right if that’s the case,” the Pacers star said, per James Boyd of The Athletic. “I don’t have a big speech or comment on it. All I care about is this locker room and winning games, and we’re in position to go to Milwaukee and continue this series on. … I know who I am. I’m confident in my own skin and not worried what anybody thinks.”

Although Haliburton was the top vote-getter in the poll, a total of 33 players earned at least one vote, with 19 players named multiple times. Rudy Gobert and Trae Young finished second and third behind Haliburton, followed by Jimmy Butler in fourth. Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were among the others who received multiple votes.

When he was asked about Haliburton’s spot atop the list, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle denounced the results more strongly than his starting point guard did, interrupting Boyd before he had finished his question.

“I heard about this and the other guys on the list were Jimmy Butler and Giannis,” Carlisle said (Twitter video link via iPacers.com). “I want to see the guys’ faces that voted those guys. … This is a bull—t poll. Not everybody even answered in the poll. Guys were able to answer if they wanted to. They were asked on camera or with a microphone. The whole thing’s bull—t, OK? And it’s really a shameful thing.

“Jimmy Butler would be a finalist for MVP if he had gotten to Golden State a month and a half earlier (with) what that guy’s done. And Giannis? Are you kidding me?”

Haliburton has done all he can in the first two games of the Pacers’ first-round series to prove the “overrated” label is erroneous. He handed out 12 assists and was a +27 in a Game 1 win on Saturday over the Bucks, then led his team to a Game 2 victory on Tuesday with 21 points and another dozen assists.

Haliburton has also gotten into it with opposing point guard Damian Lillard in both games, first when Lillard was on the bench in Game 1 and then when the two players were on the court in Game 2.

As Stephen Holder of ESPN relays, the Pacers guard downplayed those altercations as two “competitors” going at it in a playoff atmosphere. However, Haliburton didn’t deny the fact that there’s some animosity between the two Central Division teams, who have now faced each other in 17 regular season and playoff games since the start of the 2023/24 season.

“We don’t have to sit here and act like it’s any secret,” he said after Tuesday’s win. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us and that’s just what it is. And I think they live for this, we live for this, so I could (not) care less. I’m out here just trying to help my team win a game.”

Haliburton said he expects the rest of the series to maintain the same intensity level.

“Everybody says the league rivalries aren’t here anymore,” he said. “Well, it’s right here. So, this is an interesting series. We’ve played each other, it feels like, a million times over the last two years. I’ve seen every different coverage that they could throw at us. And I feel like those guys probably feel the same way about us. But there’s still a lot of series, you’ve got a lot of games to play. So, I’m sure there’ll be more heated moments, more competitive moments.”

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Bucks’ Damian Lillard To Return For Game 2

April 22nd, 2025 at 10:11am CST by Rory Maher

April 22: Lillard told reporters in Indiana on Tuesday that he’ll return to action for Game 2 tonight, tweets Nehm.

April 21: Star point guard Damian Lillard has been listed as questionable by the Bucks ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 at Indiana, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

Shortly before the team announced the injury designation, head coach Doc Rivers said he wasn’t sure if Lillard would suit up, but he practiced on Monday and went through scrimmages the past two days, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“He’s close. He looks great to me,” Rivers said.

Lillard has recovered remarkably well from a blood calf in his right calf — he recently discussed the “scary” diagnosis, which occurred late last month. Although he missed Game 1, he was cleared of his deep vein thrombosis last week and began practicing. Lillard has continued to ramp up his activity in recent days and shows up on the injury report with a designation of “return to competition reconditioning,” Nehm notes (via Twitter).

Lillard made his ninth All-Star appearance in 2024/25, averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .448/.376/.921 shooting in 36.1 minutes per contest. He would have been a strong candidate to make an All-NBA team for the eighth time, but did not qualify due to the 65-game rule — the 34-year-old appeared in 58 games this season.

Milwaukee certainly missed Lillard in Game 1, having been blown out by the Pacers. His potential return would be a boon for the Bucks, particularly on the offensive end. The team only managed 98 points while shooting just 9-of-37 from long distance (24.3%) in the series opener.

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2025 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results

April 21st, 2025 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery.

The results are as follows, according to a press release from the league (Twitter link):

  • Phoenix Suns (No. 9) over Portland Trail Blazers (No. 10)
    • The Suns will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Trail Blazers.
    • The Suns’ pick will be sent to the Rockets.
  • Dallas Mavericks (No. 11) over Chicago Bulls (No. 12)
    • The Mavericks will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Bulls.
  • Sacramento Kings (No. 13) over Atlanta Hawks (No. 14)
    • The Kings will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Hawks.
    • The Kings’ pick will be sent to the Hawks if it’s outside of the top 12.
    • The Hawks’ pick will be sent to the Spurs.
  • Memphis Grizzlies (No. 18) over Milwaukee Bucks (No. 19) over Golden State Warriors (No. 20)
    • The Grizzlies’ pick will be sent to the Wizards.
    • The Bucks’ pick will be sent to the Nets.
    • The Warriors’ pick will be sent to the Heat.
  • Los Angeles Lakers (No. 22) over Indiana Pacers (No. 23) over Los Angeles Clippers (No. 24) over Denver Nuggets (No. 25)
    • The Lakers’ pick will be sent to the Hawks.
    • The Clippers’ pick will be sent to the Thunder.
    • The Nuggets’ pick will be sent to the Magic.

While the tiebreaker winner will pick ahead of the loser(s) in the first round, that order will be flipped in the second round.

For instance, the Warriors’ second-round pick (traded to the Grizzlies) will be at No. 48, followed by the Bucks’ pick (traded to Detroit) at No. 49, and the Grizzlies (traded to New York) at No. 50 — that’s the opposite of their order in the first round.

For lottery teams that finished with identical records, the second-round order is still to be determined depending on the lottery results.

For example, if Phoenix’s first-round pick (traded to Houston) stays at No. 9 and the Blazers’ first-rounder stays at No. 10, Portland’s second-round pick (traded to Toronto) would be at No. 39 and Phoenix’s (traded to Washington) would be No. 40. But if the Trail Blazers win the No. 1 overall pick on lottery night, moving ahead of Phoenix in the first round, then the Suns’ second-round pick would be No. 39, while Portland’s would be No. 40.

We’ll publish the full lottery odds and pre-lottery draft order for 2025 later tonight.

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Central Notes: Mitchell, Kuzma, Harris, White

April 20th, 2025 at 5:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Eastern Conference’s top seed begins its first-round series tonight, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell knows that in order to be looked upon as a one of the game’s biggest stars, he has to deliver in the playoffs, he tells Marc Spears of Andscape.

“It’s right there. The biggest thing that holds me back is winning. Talent-wise, I don’t think it’s even a discussion,” he said. “It’s more like, ‘Can I win at the highest level?’ That’s been the question for most of my career. So, for me, that’s why you can’t squander these opportunities because that’s what puts you there.

“I said it [last] summer on the Melo [Carmelo Anthony] podcast, ‘I can use it as fuel, but I can’t get mad.’ I’ve been to the conference finals. I can use it as fuel, but then you got to go out there and produce a win. To shut them [critics] up, you got to go out there and win. So that’s the main goal, and I will do it by any means necessary. It doesn’t mean I have to go out and score 40 points every night. I’ve got to make the guys around me better.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma was a no-show in Game 1 of the team’s series against the Pacers. He had no points, rebounds or assists in 22 minutes. Kuzma banged his thumb in the first quarter but wouldn’t make excuses. “Just understanding what I need to do, can’t wait for the ball, can’t wait for things to happen, kind of just gotta go get it, just find myself and get into actions on my own,” he said, per the Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak. “Rebound — definitely a stinker for sure. It’s a long series, it’s seven games and I’m excited to play because I understand a little bit of what I need to do to attack the next game.”
  • The Pistons gave up 21 unanswered points in the second half of their Game 1 loss to the Knicks. Forward Tobias Harris said the team needs to move on from that disappointment with Game 2 approaching on Monday night, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s a series,” Harris said. “You can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Each team will make an adjustment, but overall it’s about mentally just staying locked into the moment and being ready for the next game, no matter what. I think for us, obviously for this group, guys having first time playoff experience it’s just understanding it stinks to lose but it’s about how you come back the next night.”
  • Bulls guard Coby White is entering the last year of his deal and will make $12.9MM next season. He’s eligible for an extension but would be foolish to sign one, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. If he pursued an extension, White would be limited to a 40% raise on his current contract. He could potentially make a lot more by waiting until free agency next summer.
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Damian Lillard Discusses ‘Scary’ Blood Clot Diagnosis

April 19th, 2025 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Friday for the first time since being diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right calf last month, Bucks guard Damian Lillard admitted that learning he had a blood clot was “a little bit scary,” as Eric Nehm and Zach Powell of The Athletic write.

“I think I’ve had a couple of surgeries in my career. I’ve had things I’ve had to deal with, you know, with an ankle or a knee, Achilles, calf, whatever it might be,” Lillard said. “But those are all things that you go to rehab, you deal with it like that, like an athlete would. I’m thinking that’s what I was going into, and then you see a blood clot. Obviously, that’s a thing that can affect your life.”

According to Lillard, he experienced pain in his calf that he initially believed was a strain, but the leg was “swollen” and “super tight” in a way that wasn’t consistent with the typical symptoms of a strain, prompting him to tell the team about it.

Because the Bucks and the star point guard acted quickly, doctors caught and diagnosed the blood clot early, reducing the odds of it developing into a significant issue. But Lillard – who had a cousin deal with a similar health issue in 2021 – recognizes that it could have turned into something more serious.

“Honestly, when I say I was scared, I was really nervous about it, based off of a past experience,” Lillard said. “So I wasn’t really thinking about, ‘Oh, I need to get back out there for the playoffs.’ I was just like each time I went back to the hospital, I wanted to hear that it’s gone or it’s smaller or it’s in the same spot, so that was more of my focus.”

Repeated blood clots forced former NBA star Chris Bosh to end his career early, and even a single instance of a blood clot often sidelines a player for the rest of the season. Most recently, the Spurs ruled out Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of 2024/25 just days after the All-Star game due to a blood clot in his right shoulder. Pistons wing Ausar Thompson, diagnosed with a blood clot last March, missed the end of the ’23/24 season and didn’t make his ’24/25 debut until November.

However, reporting at the time of Lillard’s diagnosis indicated there was optimism about his chances to make it back this season. He won’t play on Saturday in Game 1 of the Bucks’ first-round series vs. Indiana, but Shams Charania of ESPN stated this week that Lillard has been cleared of his deep vein thrombosis and is no longer taking blood-thinning medication.

Lillard has returned to practice and is ramping up toward a potential return. He’s not sure yet when exactly that might happen, though Charania reported on ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Saturday that the 34-year-old is expected to be back in Game 2 on Tuesday or Game 3 next Friday (Twitter video link).

“The moment that I feel good about it. I’m not going to be waiting and all of that,” Lillard said, per Nehm and Powell. “The moment that I feel I can go, I’m gonna go. So I mean, that’s what I can tell you.”

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G League’s All-Defensive, All-Rookie Teams Unveiled

April 17th, 2025 at 2:43pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has officially announced (via Twitter) the G League’s All-Defensive Team for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full five-player list:

All-NBA G League Defensive Team

The top rookies of the NBAGL season were also unveiled on Thursday (Twitter link). They are as follows:

All-NBA G League Rookie Team

Key, who was recently promoted to a standard contract with Golden State, was named the NBAGL’s Defensive Player of the Year, while Alexander won Rookie of the Year. Badji, who recently signed with a Spanish club, and Nogues, who has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, finished second and third in DPOY voting, respectively. Jones Garcia was the runner-up for ROY, with Young finishing third.

As our tracker shows, Alexander, Jenkins, Young and Dennis are on two-way contracts with their respective NBA clubs.

Journeyman center Brown also earned a spot on the All-NBA G League Second Team, while Alexander made the Third Team.

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Damian Lillard Cleared To Practice, Out For Game 1

April 17th, 2025 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

April 17: Although Lillard has been ruled out for Game 1 of the Bucks/Pacers series on Saturday, he has been cleared of his deep vein thrombosis and is no longer taking blood-thinning medication, sources tell Charania (Twitter links). It’s a remarkable turnaround for the veteran point guard, who will resume contact workouts and ramp up toward a return, Charania adds.

According to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter links), Lillard played three-on-three on Wednesday and practiced on Thursday.

April 15: Bucks star Damian Lillard, who was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf last month, has made “significant progress” in his recovery but won’t be available when the first round of the playoffs tip off this weekend, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).

As Charania details, there’s still optimism that Lillard will be medically cleared to return at some point before Milwaukee’s season ends. The star point guard will continue to increase his basketball activities this week.

The Bucks confirmed Charania’s update, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

“Damian’s most recent weekly scan shows that his injury has significantly improved, which will enable him to move ahead safely with increased basketball activity,” general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “Damian’s health remains our No. 1 priority. We have followed strict protocols and will continue to do so. We are pleased with the positive news about Damian’s progress.”

Lillard has been on the shelf since March 18. Reporting one week later indicated that he had been diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf and was on blood-thinning medication. He was ruled out indefinitely at that time, with one report stating there was a “great deal of optimism” that he’d be able to return at some point this spring.

Health issues have contributed to the Bucks’ first-round exit in each of the last two postseasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo has only been available for three of 11 playoff games during that time, and Lillard was forced to the sidelines for two games in last year’s first-round loss to Indiana.

While Antetokounmpo is healthy entering this year’s rematch with the Pacers, not having Lillard available figures to adversely affect the Bucks’ chances of advancing to round two.

Lillard earned his ninth All-Star nod in his second season in Milwaukee in 2024/25, averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 36.1 minutes per game across 58 starts. He recorded a shooting line of .448/.376/.921, improving on the percentages he posted during his first year as a Buck in ’23/24.

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