James, Antetokounmpo Battle For NBA Supremacy
- Friday’s matchup between the Bucks and Cavaliers was the latest opportunity for Giannis Antetokounmpo to show he’s on LeBron James‘ level, notes Vincent Goodwill of Bleacher Report. Although Antetokounmpo outscored James, 34-24, the Cavs claimed a decisive victory. The “Greek Freak” is posting MVP numbers through the first week of the season, and at age 22 he seems destined to someday become the best player in the league. “You understand the magnitude of it, and you still wanna claim your throne as well,” said Cleveland guard Dwyane Wade. “You don’t want them to push you off it. It was a great matchup watching those two guys do everything that’s needed for their team.”
Bucks Sign Joel Bolomboy To Two-Way Contract
5:16pm: The Bucks have officially announced the signing over Twitter.
5:00pm: The Bucks are signing Joel Bolomboy to a two-way contract, Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days tweets. The forward was the last cut by the Jazz in preseason after they selected him in the second-round of the 2016 NBA Draft.
While the Weber State product didn’t spend much time in the NBA during his rookie campaign he was particularly dominant with Utah’s G League affiliate in Salt Lake City. The 23-year-old will look to build upon a solid stat line in his first season with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
In 22 games with the Stars in 2016/17, Bolomboy averaged 16.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. After his release from the Jazz last week he was expected to be the first-overall pick in the annual G League draft on Saturday.
When Bolomboy does get a chance to suit up for the big league club in Milwaukee, he’ll compete with the likes of Mirza Teletovic and John Henson for reps off the bench.
Bucks' Affiliate Acquires Cliff Alexander's G League Rights
- Cliff Alexander, who was in camp with New Orleans earlier this month, had his returning rights traded to the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ G League affiliate, per a team release. “Cliff is a highly-skilled big man who is among the best in the league at his position,” Herd GM Dave Dean said in a statement. “He has a tremendous upside and we are excited to add him to the Wisconsin Herd family.”
Teams With Open Roster Spots
For the first time, NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 17 players this season. In addition to carrying up to 15 players to the NBA roster, teams can add two more players on two-way contracts. The rule changes related to roster sizes have allowed teams to maintain a little extra flexibility, and many clubs are taking advantage of that added flexibility to open the season, carrying the full 17 players.
Several teams still have open roster spots though, affording those clubs a different kind of flexibility. A team carrying only 14 NBA players, for instance, has the opportunity to sign a free agent or add a player in a trade at any time without waiving anyone, all the while avoiding paying for a 15th man who almost certainly won’t see much playing time.
With the help of our roster count page and our two-way contract tracker, here’s a breakdown of the teams that have at least one open NBA or two-way spot on their rosters:
Teams carrying just 14 NBA contracts:
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers
It makes sense that a few of these teams would avoid carrying a 15th man to open the season. The Rockets, Thunder, and Trail Blazers are all taxpayers, and teams like the Clippers and Hornets are close enough to the tax threshold that avoiding a 15th salary is logical. Among these clubs, the Celtics seem like perhaps the best bet to fill their final roster opening soon, now that the team has likely lost Gordon Hayward for the season.
Teams carrying just one two-way contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Houston Rockets
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers don’t currently have a G League affiliate of their own, but the other five teams on this list do, so that’s probably not the reason Portland has waited to fill its second two-way slot. In all likelihood, these six teams will add a second two-way player in time for G League training camps, which open next week. The season tips off on November 3.
NBA Teams With Most, Least Roster Continuity
As usual, the 2017 NBA offseason featured a ton of player movement, with new rookies entering the league, free agents changing teams, and a total of 40 trades being completed between the end of the 2016/17 season and 2017/18’s opening night.
Some teams were more involved in that summer carousel than others. The Celtics, for instance, will enter the season carrying only four players – Al Horford, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart – who finished last season with the team. The Clippers are another team whose roster underwent significant turnover this offseason, with only five players returning from last year’s squad.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, teams like the Warriors, Bucks, and Trail Blazers made minimal changes, bringing back 12 players from last year’s rosters. That was especially impressive in Golden State’s case, since the club entered the summer with players like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, David West, Andre Iguodala, Zaza Pachulia, Shaun Livingston, and JaVale McGee eligible for free agency — all of those players re-signed with the Dubs.
As a point of comparison, the Clippers took on more new players in their Chris Paul trade alone than clubs like the Warriors, Bucks, and Blazers added all summer.
After taking a closer look earlier today at the NBA’s youngest and oldest opening night rosters, we’ll turn our attention to the clubs with the most and least roster continuity to open the season. Listed below are the number of returning players for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, from most to fewest. Two-way players aren’t included in this list.
Bringing back a significant number of players doesn’t necessarily lead to regular season success, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few of the teams near the top of this list enjoy fast starts due to their players’ familiarity with each other, while teams near the bottom of the list may take some time to get used to their changes.
Here’s the returning-player count for each team:
- Golden State Warriors: 12
- Milwaukee Bucks: 12
- Portland Trail Blazers: 12
- Denver Nuggets: 12
- Note: Nuggets’ figure set to dip to 11 once the team officially signs Richard Jefferson and waives Jameer Nelson, as is expected.
- Dallas Mavericks: 11
- Miami Heat: 11
- Philadelphia 76ers: 11
- Phoenix Suns: 11
- San Antonio Spurs: 11
- Toronto Raptors: 11
- Washington Wizards: 11
- Memphis Grizzlies: 10
- New Orleans Pelicans: 10
- Brooklyn Nets: 9
- Charlotte Hornets: 9
- Detroit Pistons: 9
- Houston Rockets: 9
- Chicago Bulls: 8
- Los Angeles Lakers: 8
- New York Knicks: 8
- Note: The Knicks are the only team carrying 16 players to open the season.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 8
- Orlando Magic: 8
- Utah Jazz: 8
- Atlanta Hawks: 7
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 7
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 7
- Sacramento Kings: 7
- Indiana Pacers: 6
- Los Angeles Clippers: 5
- Boston Celtics: 4
Bucks Sign Gary Payton II To Two-Way Contract
The Bucks have filled one of their open two-way slots by signing free agent guard Gary Payton II to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release. Milwaukee had entered the day as the only NBA team without a player on a two-way deal.
Payton, the son of Hall-of-Famer and former SuperSonics guard Gary Payton, went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2016, but caught on with the Rockets for training camp. After being cut by Houston last October, the 24-year-old spent most of the season with the club’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In 49 G League games, Payton averaged 14.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.0 SPG.
Having signed a multiyear deal with Milwaukee near the end of the 2016/17 campaign, Payton was a candidate to make the Bucks’ regular season roster, but was ultimately cut on Saturday. His contract didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause, making it ineligible to be converted into a two-way deal, but the Bucks were eligible to re-sign him to a two-way contract once he cleared waivers.
Payton will suit up for the Bucks’ new G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, once the season begins. Milwaukee, meanwhile, still has one more two-way spot to fill.
Bucks Claim DeAndre Liggins Off Waivers
The Bucks have filled the 15th and final spot on their roster by claiming veteran swingman DeAndre Liggins off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Milwaukee opened up that roster spot by waiving Gerald Green on Saturday.
Liggins, 29, is coming off his most successful NBA season, having appeared in 62 total contests for the Cavaliers and Mavericks, starting 19 games with Cleveland. However, since being cut by the Cavs just before the end of the regular season, Liggins has been a fixture on the NBA’s transactions wire.
Since the start of April, Liggins has been claimed off waivers (from Cleveland) by the Mavericks, traded to the Rockets, traded to the Clippers, traded to the Hawks, waived by the Hawks, signed by the Heat, and now claimed off waivers from Miami by the Bucks.
We’ll see if Liggins sticks with the Bucks, since his contract is non-guaranteed. For now though, Milwaukee’s waiver claim of the well-traveled guard/forward appears to take the team out of the running for Richard Jefferson, as Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets. The Bucks and Nuggets were among the teams linked to Jefferson, who cleared waivers this afternoon.
Nuggets Among Teams Eyeing Richard Jefferson
With Richard Jefferson poised to clear waivers later today, the Nuggets are among the teams that have joined the pursuit of the veteran forward, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski previous reported that there was mutual interest between Jefferson and the Bucks, calling Milwaukee a “serious suitor” for the 37-year-old.
While the Nuggets and Bucks have expressed interest in Jefferson, they’re not the only teams in the mix. There are three or four teams serious about making a run at the former Cavalier, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Jefferson has a “strong friendship” with Nuggets president and governor Josh Kroenke.
A 16-year NBA veteran, Jefferson averaged 5.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 79 regular season contests last year. He was a victim of a roster crunch in Cleveland after spending the last two seasons with the Cavs, with the club trading him to Atlanta along with Kay Felder on Saturday. The Hawks subsequently waived both players.
If the Nuggets were to land Jefferson, they’d have to make a corresponding roster move to clear room for him, since the clubs is currently carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed salaries. There’s no clear candidate on Denver’s roster to be cut — the team’s lowest-paid players are important contributors or young prospects, such as Nikola Jokic, Tyler Lydon, Malik Beasley, and Juan Hernangomez.
Thon Maker Adds Weight; G League Affiliate Acquires Xavier Munford
- With his rookie season in the books, Bucks center Thon Maker immediately set out to bulk up and add weight. The 20-year-old will use the extra muscle to stand his ground on defense and withstand contact while making moves around the basket, Lori Nickel of the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel writes.
- The G League affiliate of the Bucks acquired the returning rights to Xavier Munford, Mallory Steinberg of the Wisconsin Herd’s official site writes.
Mutual Interest Between Bucks, Richard Jefferson
The Bucks are a “serious suitor” for veteran forward Richard Jefferson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Cavaliers traded the 37-year-old to Atlanta earlier today along with Kay Felder in a move designed to save as much as $12.8MM in luxury tax. The Hawks immediately waived Jefferson and Felder, making them both unrestricted free agents if they clear waivers, which should happen Monday.
Milwaukee could claim Jefferson off waivers, but taking on his salary would push the team $5K over the luxury tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Jefferson will make $2.5MM this season and a non-guaranteed $2,612,500 in 2018/19.
Several other teams have also expressed interest in Jefferson, sources tell Wojnarowski, but the Bucks seem to be the most prominent. Milwaukee waived another veteran forward, Gerald Green, earlier today to open a roster spot.
Jefferson was a teammate of Bucks coach Jason Kidd for seven years with the Nets, including two trips to the NBA Finals. Their relationship could give Milwaukee an edge once Jefferson hits the open market.
Wojnarowski adds that the Bucks have been working on several deals to trim cap space involving guard Rashad Vaughn and center John Henson. The team has offered a second-round pick to anybody willing to take Vaughn, who is owed nearly $1.9MM this season and has a team option worth $2.9MM+ in 2018/19. Henson has three seasons and more than $31.7MM left on his contract.