Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Duval, G League Draft, NBA Rosters, Williamson

October 25th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trevon Duval has signed a G League contract and is eligible for this Saturday’s draft, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. Duval was a two-way player for the Rockets last season and became a free agent when the team didn’t give him a qualifying offer this summer. He was claimed by Houston in March after the Bucks waived him. The former Duke guard made three cameo appearances with Milwaukee.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Journeyman center Hasheem Thabeet, former Lakers guard Vander Blue, and forward Trey Mourning, son of Alonzo Mourning, are some of the more interesting names on the list of players eligible for the G League draft, according to a league press release. The Northern Arizona Suns have the first pick.
There are 108 international players from 38 countries and territories on current NBA rosters, according to a league press release. The most-represented countries among the 108 international players on opening-night rosters are Canada (16 players), Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players). The Mavericks lead the league with seven international players.
Zion Williamson‘s knee injury created disappointment for the NBA’s TV partners, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. TNT and ESPN wanted nationally-televised games featuring the Pelicans during the opening week of the season to showcase Williamson. They were stuck showing the Pelicans without the top pick in the draft on the court because it was too late to make a change. Vardon goes in-depth on how the national TV schedule is designed and notes that the Lakers play 21 of their 30 nationally -televised games after New Year’s Day because the networks wanted to feature LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the team’s playoff push.
Amida Brimah, the former UConn center who was in training camp with the Pacers, has suffered a torn right ACL, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. He was slated to join Indiana’s G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Brimah will undergo surgery next week, Agness adds.

Bucks Exercising 2020/21 Options On DiVincenzo, Wilson

October 24th, 2019 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

3:50pm: Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirms (via Twitter) that the Bucks are exercising Wilson’s fourth-year option in addition to DiVincenzo’s third-year option. Wilson’s 2020/21 option is worth $4,548,280.

2:45pm: The Bucks are picking up their third-year option on Donte DiVincenzo‘s rookie contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). DiVincenzo is already on a guaranteed contract this season, but this move will lock in his $3,044,160 cap charge for the 2020/21 league year.

DiVincenzo, who won a pair of NCAA championships during his time at Villanova, was the 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, but was limited to 27 games during his rookie season due to foot problems. The 22-year-old averaged just 4.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .403/.265/.750 shooting in 15.2 minutes per contest.

Despite a disappointing first year, the Bucks still believe in DiVincenzo, whose modest rookie contract would become a bargain if he develops into a reliable rotation player. Milwaukee’s next decision on the shooting guard will be due on October 31, 2020, when the team has to exercise or decline his $4,675,830 option for 2021/22.

As our tracker of rookie scale option decisions for 2020/21 shows, the Bucks also have a decision to make this year on D.J. Wilson‘s fourth-year option. That one’s a safe bet to be picked up too, so the team will likely announce both moves at the same time.

Giannis Denies Making Comment About Contract Decision

October 24th, 2019 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

12:23pm: Antetokounmpo claimed today that he didn’t make the comments attributed to him in the Harvard Business School study, according to Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).

“If you kind of read the last quote, I’ve never used those words in my life,” he said.

The study has yet to be published, but it seems extremely unlikely that its authors would have fabricated a quote from Antetokounmpo. The interview, which reportedly took place months ago, was recorded, according to Dinan (Twitter link via Romell).

9:52am: After earning another All-NBA nod and winning an MVP award last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo ensured that he’ll be eligible for a super-max extension with the Bucks. However, he can’t officially sign that extension until the 2020 offseason, when he’ll have seven years of NBA experience under his belt.

The Bucks have already made it clear that offer will be waiting for Antetokounmpo next summer, earning themselves a fine for discussing it publicly. Now the NBA world is waiting to see whether Giannis will actually sign it.

The latest hint at the reigning MVP’s thought process comes from an unlikely source. As Rick Romell of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays, Antetokounmpo spoke in the spring to Anita Elberse, a Harvard Business School professor who was researching a case study on the Bucks’ culture and the challenges a small-market team like Milwaukee faces why trying to hang onto a superstar player. In that interview with Elberse, Giannis addressed his contract situation more directly than he has typically done with NBA reporters.

“I want the Bucks to build a winning culture. So far, we have been doing great, and, if this lasts, there’s no other place I want to be,” Antetokounmpo said, per Elberse and co-author Melcolm Ruffin. “But if we’re underperforming in the NBA next year, deciding whether to sign becomes a lot more difficult.”

Antetokounmpo’s comments aren’t exactly groundbreaking. After making it within two games of the NBA Finals last spring, the Bucks are widely considered good bets to at least return to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020, and perhaps to advance further. If they fall short of those goals, it makes sense that Giannis’ decision on whether to sign on long-term would become more complicated. Still, it’s noteworthy that he actually admitted as much.

The Bucks’ star, who has a $27.53MM salary for the 2020/21 season, could tack five additional years onto that his deal if he signs a super-max extension next year. Based on the league’s latest cap projections, that five-year extension would be worth $253.75MM.

For their part, the Bucks have insisted they’re not concerned about Antetokounmpo’s contract situation. As Romell notes, Bucks co-owner Jamie Dinan also downplayed the Giannis quote relayed by Elberse, speculating that the researchers may have needed to generate some conflict for their study.

“I wasn’t in the room when [Antetokounmpo] said it,” Dinan said, “so I don’t know if they goaded him a little bit to kind of get some conflict.

Central Notes: Bledsoe, Giannis, Rose, Hutchison

October 22nd, 2019 at 10:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Eric Bledsoe is expected to be ready for the Bucks‘ opener on Thursday, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays.

“I kind of knew what it was, in a sense,” said Bledsoe, who suffered a rib cage injury earlier in the preseason. “I knew it wasn’t nothing serious… I knew I was going to bounce back.”

Bledsoe will join Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and newcomer Wesley Matthews in the Bucks’ starting lineup, Velazquez adds in the same piece. Matthews will take over for Malcolm Brogdon, who was traded to the Pacers this offseason.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today argues that the Bucks have done everything right to keep Antetokounmpo around long-term. Milwaukee can offer Giannis the super-max next summer.
How Derrick Rose performs will go a long way toward whether the Pistons make the postseason, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. Rose signed a two-year deal with the club this offseason.
There are plenty of questions surrounding second-year Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who notes that it may be hard for the club to find rotation minutes for Hutchison even once he’s recovered from his hamstring injury.

Lakers Notes: Opening Night, LeBron, Kawhi, Jones

October 22nd, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kyle Kuzma is not playing for the Lakers tonight against the Clippers as he recovers from a stress reaction in his left foot. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com, it’s not clear how long Kuzma will remain sidelined.

“He’s on no-contact, half-court now,” coach Frank Vogel said of Kuzma. “I’m sure we’ll build up to no-contact, full-court with sprinting or potentially half-court with contact. I’m not sure which direction they’re going to take it next, but there will be a progression this week building him up.”

Vogel added that Kuzma has been “impatient” with his injury but is “on board with the plan” that the team has to get him back at full strength.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

LeBron James could envision a world where Kawhi Leonard was also on the Lakers, but he isn’t sure why the reigning Finals MVP picked the Clippers in free agency, as McMenamin relays in a separate piece. “Man, how the hell can I answer that? I don’t [expletive] know,” James said jocularly when asked what convinced Leonard to sign elsewhere. “I don’t know. I don’t know. Ask Kawhi.”
Anthony Davis said he had a role in attempting to recruit Leonard. “It was fun just to go through it, for me, with a player like Kawhi, trying to recruit him to come here. It was fun,” Davis said (via McMenamin in the same article). “We had one conversation, and I think he came out with a statement, or his uncle or something … somebody said he don’t really like all the recruitment and all that stuff, so I felt like I overstepped my boundaries…But it was a fun process. I would do it all over.”
The South Bay Lakers have traded the G League rights of Jemerrio Jones to the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks‘ affiliate), per a team press release. The Lakers’ affiliate will receive the No. 8 overall pick in the upcoming G League draft and the Herd’s 2020 first-rounder for Jones, who was recently waived by the Wizards and signed by Bucks on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Eric Bledsoe To Be Reevaluated This Week

October 20th, 2019 at 8:19pm CST by JD Shaw

Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe (hip) will be re-evaluated this week, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. Bledsoe went through a significant portion of practice for the second time on Saturday, with head coach Mike Budenholzer hopeful that he’ll be available for the season opener against Houston on Thursday.

Bucks Waive Tucker, Lacey, Jones

October 19th, 2019 at 4:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rayjon Tucker, Trevor Lacey and Jemerrio Jones are the final three roster cuts for the Bucks, the team announced in its Twitter feed. All three were on Exhibit 10 contracts and are likely to wind up with the Wisconsin Herd, the organization’s G League affiliate.

Tucker signed with Milwaukee in August and appeared in three preseason games, averaging 3.3 points in 9.7 minutes per night. He announced in the spring that he was transferring to Memphis from Arkansas-Little Rock, but opted to keep his name in the draft, where he wasn’t selected. Tucker played for the Bucks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Lacey signed with Milwaukee on Thursday and Jones inked a deal with the team earlier today, so neither saw any preseason action with the Bucks. Jones was waived by the Wizards earlier this week.

Bucks Sign Jemerrio Jones

October 19th, 2019 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have signed former Lakers and Wizards forward Jemerrio Jones, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Jones, 24, finished the 2018/19 season with the Lakers, averaging 4.5 PPG and 8.2 RPG in six games (23.8 MPG). He was sent to Washington in the three-team Anthony Davis blockbuster this summer for salary-matching purposes, then was waived by the Wizards earlier this week.

Because Jones received a partial guarantee of nearly $200K as a result of his inclusion in the Davis trade, he’s ineligible to sign a two-way contract with any NBA team this season. However, he can still play in the G League.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), Jones’ new deal with Milwaukee contains an Exhibit 10 clause and the plan is for him to be waived and to join the Wisconsin Herd to start the season, so he can earn a $50K bonus. Of course, if he gets an NBA opportunity before he spends 60 days with the Herd, that plan could change.

Bucks Sign Trevor Lacey

October 18th, 2019 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have signed free agent shooting guard Trevor Lacey, the team announced (via Twitter). Milwaukee didn’t reveal the contract terms, but it’s likely an Exhibit 10 deal.

Lacey, who went undrafted out of North Carolina State in 2015, spent two seasons in the Italian League to begin his professional career and has played for Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia for the last two years. In 17 EuroCup games last season, he averaged 5.8 PPG and 2.4 APG with a .472 3PT%.

Because Lacey has never played in the G League, the Bucks will be able to sign him as an affiliate player, which appears to be the plan. If the 28-year-old spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd, he’d be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K.

The Bucks now have 19 players under contract.

Korver Brings Intangibles Along With Shooting

October 14th, 2019 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers’ first-round pick Goga Bitadze will make his preseason debut on Tuesday, Mark Monteith of the team’s website relays. The Euro big man missed the first three preseason games with an ankle injury. He’s slated as the main backup at center with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis projected as starters. “That’s kind of where we’ve got him at,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We’ll see as we get into the season what the rotation is going to look like.”

We have more from the Central Division:

Cavaliers rookie Darius Garland could wind up in the starting lineup with Collin Sexton in a dual point guard backcourt, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Garland has come off the bench thus far in the preseason but that could change with coach John Beilein continuing to tinker with various lineups. “If he’s able to practice enough and earn it, I have no qualms about that at all,” Beilein said. “But there’s a certain process you have to go through to be that starting point guard and whatever it’s going to take. We will get him in when we think it’s best for the team to win.”
Pistons coach Dwane Casey wants to see his team take 40% of its shots from beyond the arc, Keith Langlois of the team’s website relays. Like many teams, Detroit attempted a franchise record number of 3-pointers last season and Casey wants to continue that trend. Their backup bigs, including Markieff Morris, will help the Pistons achieve that goal. “We want to stay around 40,” Casey said. “We want to continue to get up more corner threes as much as possible. Our slot threes were up, but we were getting a fair amount of corner threes. We’ve got to continue to do that and put pressure on the basket.”
The Bucks added veteran guard Kyle Korver as another perimeter option but coach Mike Budenholzer sees Korver providing assistance in other areas, according to Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Korver signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal in July. “All the little things he does,” Budenholzer said. “Competing and screening. Getting hits on the defensive boards. I think we’re really excited about how he is going to make us better this year.”
Zach LaVine is eager to shed his reputation as a subpar defender, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times relays. LaVine has been challenged to become a better two-way player by Bulls coach Jim Boylen. ‘‘I’m just tired of people talking [poorly] about my defense,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I’ve always been a good on-ball defender. But there’s no reason I can be this good offensively and not be that good on the defensive end. So I’m taking more pride in it. I’m pretty sure it’ll show.”