Matthew Dellavedova Cleared To Return
- Another former Cav, Matthew Dellavedova, has been sidelined for the last five games due to a hamstring injury, but the Australian guard has been cleared to return to the court for the Bucks, according to an AAP report (link via ESPN.com).
Middleton Could Return After All-Star Break; Plumlee's Reduced Role
The Bucks have been without perimeter scorer Khris Middleton since September when he underwent hamstring surgery expected to sideline him for the duration of 2016/17. According to Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, the 25-year-old could be back ahead of schedule and potentially take the court this year at some point after the All-Star Break.
“It’s possible. That’s if everything goes right, with no setbacks and a good, long stretch of practices,” Middleton told Aschburner of his possible return to the Bucks. “Still a long way to go but I’m working towards it.”
Over the last three seasons the Bucks have seen their swingman develop from an unheralded second-round pick to a legitimate perimeter threat. In 2015/16, the small forward averaged 18.2 points per game.
- After signing a substantial four-year, $50M contract with the Bucks over the offseason, Miles Plumlee was expected to play a vital role in Milwaukee’s rotation. Fast forward to January and the center has played just 9.2 minutes per game. According to Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Pressbox, head coach Jason Kidd suggested that Plumlee put less pressure on himself. Worth noting is that Plumlee’s role could change if Greg Monroe is ultimately moved before the deadline, as has been rumored.
Antetokounmpo Embraces Role As Franchise Player
- Once a raw, goofy prospect, Giannis Antetokounmpo has evolved into an NBA superstar. “I’ve become more serious,” he tells Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. “I have a franchise on my shoulders.” Jenkins profiled the 22-year-old in the magazine’s January 9 cover story (the first Bucks player to grace the cover of the publication since 1982).
Greg Monroe Remains On Trade Block
The Bucks are still looking to trade Greg Monroe, a league executive tells Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. Monroe, whose name surfaced in trade rumors at last season’s deadline, has been considered a candidate to be moved for most of 2016.
Heading into the summer of 2015, Monroe was viewed as one of the top big men on the market, and the Bucks beat out multiple suitors, including the Knicks, to land him. However, the 26-year-old hasn’t been an ideal fit in Jason Kidd‘s system in Milwaukee.
After starting 67 contests and averaging 29.3 MPG a year ago, Monroe has come off the bench this year, with his minutes dipping to just 19.3 per game. His per-minute stats suggest he has been as productive as ever, but due to his limited playing time, his marks of 9.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG are the lowest of his career.
While Monroe isn’t exactly thriving with the Bucks, and didn’t generate the sort of trade interest the team anticipated over the summer, there’s still reason to believe he could have some appeal to potential suitors at this February’s deadline. He’s a strong low-post scorer, and the Bucks have been significantly better with him on the court so far this season — the team has a +10.3 net rating when he plays, and a -1.8 rating when he doesn’t.
Still, Monroe’s player option for 2017/18 could be problematic. Any potential trade partner for the Bucks would likely want to get a sense of whether or not the big man plans to exercise that option – worth nearly $18MM – before making a deal. Some suitors may not want to give up much for a rental, while others may not want to be saddled with that salary on their ’17/18 cap.
The Pelicans are one team that has been frequently linked to Monroe in recent months.
Kerr: Cavaliers Miss Dellavedova
Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes the loss of backup guard Matthew Dellavedova has been the biggest change in the defending champion Cavaliers, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova was involved in a sign-and-trade deal with the Bucks this summer after agreeing to a four-year, $38MM contract with Milwaukee. Cleveland has yet to find a dependable reserve point guard to play behind Kyrie Irving. “Dellavedova’s absence jumps out,” Kerr said. “I think he’s been a big part of their team in the last couple years, so it’s a different look.”
- After missing nearly two full months with left knee and left wrist problems, Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams is expected to return Monday, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Carter-Williams has only played in three games since being acquired from the Bucks in a preseason trade. He was projected to miss four to six weeks after hurting the wrist October 31st, but had to have a cast put on it to help with healing.
John Henson Playing Well As Starting Center
- The Bucks have a crowded frontcourt, with Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee, and John Henson all making big bucks to play no more than about 20 MPG apiece this season. However, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times details, it’s Henson who has emerged as the starting center, a decision that is paying off in Milwaukee.
Latest On How New CBA Will Affect Trades, Extensions
Details on the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement continue to trickle out, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders passes along a particularly interesting nugget this morning. According to Pincus, the term sheet for the new CBA suggests that a player who signs a deal under the new agreement will only have the guaranteed portion of his contract used for salary-matching purposes in a trade.
As an example, Pincus points to Arron Afflalo, whose $12.5MM salary in 2017/18 is only guaranteed for $1.5MM. Afflalo won’t be directly affected by this change, since his contract was signed under the previous CBA, but going forward, it will impact players who sign similar deals. Based on the new CBA rules, that salary would count for just $1.5MM in a trade, rather than $12.5MM. The change should help deter teams from acquiring players on non-guaranteed salaries and then immediately waiving them to cut costs.
Pincus also shares several more details on the new CBA, so we’ve rounded up some of the highlights below. As usual, these details are part of the tentative agreement, but that agreement has yet to be formally ratified, so it’s subject to change. Be sure to check out Pincus’ full article for more info.
Contract extensions:
- Under the previous CBA, a veteran became extension-eligible if at least three years had passed since he signed a contract of four years or more. The new CBA will allow players to sign veteran extensions two years after they signed their previous deal, and three-year contracts will be eligible to be extended.
- Designated player extensions can only be signed during the offseason, beginning on July 1, similar to rookie scale extensions. The salary in the first year of a designated player extension will be between 30-35% of the cap, and there will be language in the deal to potentially grandfather in players who signed extensions this past offseason, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- The criteria for the designated player extension for players coming off rookie contracts will be the same as for the veteran designated player extension. Those criteria relate to All-NBA, MVP, or Defensive Player of the Year awards, with All-Star starts no longer included.
- The deadline for rookie scale extensions will be moved up to one day before the regular season begins. Previously, the deadline was October 31.
Suspensions:
- A player who is suspended without pay will now be docked 1/145th of his salary per day, rather than 1/110th. However, suspensions of 20+ games will still result in a player losing 1/110th of his salary per day.
- A player who tests positive for a steroid or performance-enhancing drug will be suspended 25 games if he’s a first-time offender, and 55 games if he’s a second-time offender.
Salary cap:
- The NBA will determine the salary cap for a given league year before the July moratorium gets underway, rather than calculating it during the moratorium.
Central Notes: Liggins, MCW, Bucks, Stuckey
Cavaliers shooting guard DeAndre Liggins has long been heralded as a scrappy, defensive stopper, but a recent stint in Cleveland’s rotation has pushed the 28-year-old journeyman into the spotlight. After winning the D-League Defensive Player of the Year award last season, Liggins has thrived with the defending champions, especially now that he’s seeing more time with the first unit.
“The biggest difference now,” Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue tells ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “[Is that] he’s playing with the starters and now he doesn’t have to handle the ball as much. He doesn’t have to make plays. So now he can just do what he does, and that’s defend, maul people on defense.”
The wing, who models his game after fellow Chicago native Tony Allen played over 20 minutes three times last week while filling in for the injured J.R. Smith. Smith returned to the Cavaliers’ starting lineup on Saturday night, but it appears likely that Liggins will continue to see more action than he had been seeing prior to the opportunity.
You can read more of McMenamin’s in-depth discussion with Liggins – one that touches on his personal history and the domestic assault charges that nearly derailed his career – at ESPN. Here’s more from around the Central:
- Fred Hoiberg is uncertain when the Bulls will be able to welcome reserve point guard Michael Carter-Williams back to the lineup, says ESPN’s Nick Friedell. Asked if a return by the end of the month was possible, Hoiberg suggested that the team will have a better idea when the guard removes his soft cast. Out since October 31, Carter-Williams only switched into his soft cast last week.
- If the Bucks have decided to locate their recently announced D-League affiliate in nearby Racine, Wisconsin, official word hasn’t yet trickled over to the mayor of the city. As Patrick Leary reports for The Journal Times, the franchise has not made it clear whether or not it will occupy the forthcoming $46MM Racine Event Center and the delay has impacted the publication of a facility financing package. For a while now, the Bucks have been in the process of choosing a location for an affiliate, but the timetable been pushed back on multiple occasions. Other possible Wisconsin locations include Oshkosh and Sheboygan.
- Bucks veteran Jason Terry has impressed coaches and opponents around the league, says Chase Hughes of CSN. At 39 years and 85 days old, Terry is the third oldest player in the NBA. Recently Wizards head coach Scott Brooks cited the guard’s willingness to prepare every day and to maintain his body as the keys to his longevity.
- The Pacers have several options at the two down the stretch, but recently head coach Nate McMillan has shown a proclivity to role with 10-year veteran Rodney Stuckey instead of starter Monta Ellis. As Nate Taylor writes at the Indy Star, McMillan has played Stuckey with the rest of the starting unit in the final minutes of each of Indiana’s past three games. Taylor reports that it’s Stuckey’s ability to contribute on both ends of the floor that has earned him the extra playing time.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/1/16
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
8:36pm:
- The Nets recalled point guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Chris McCullough from the Long Island Nets in time for their game against the Bucks, according to a team press release. Ferrell and McCullough started for Long Island earlier in the day in the team’s 114-104 victory over Santa Cruz in Brooklyn. Ferrell recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists, while McCullough totaled 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
2:34pm:
- As expected, Nerlens Noel was recalled from the D-League today by the Sixers, the team announced in a press release. Noel figures to go back and forth between the NBA club and the Delaware 87ers as he continues to rehab his knee injury and works toward a return.
- Speaking of going back and forth between the NBA and the D-League, the Raptors once again assigned Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet to their NBADL affiliate today, per the team (Twitter link). Given the close proximity the Raptors and Raptors 905, Caboclo and VanVleet are among the league leaders in D-League assignments so far this season.
- The Bucks have recalled guard Rashad Vaughn from the Westchester Knicks, according to a press release from the club. Milwaukee doesn’t control its own NBADL affiliate, so Vaughn played for New York’s affiliate, and has averaged just 16.6 minutes per game for the quad in three games this year — if the Bucks had their own D-League team, Vaughn likely would have seen more playing time.
Dellavedova Settles Into New Role
- Matthew Dellavedova, an important reserve on the Cavaliers‘ championship team, is settling into his new role as a starter with the Bucks, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland entered the summer planning to match any offer to the restricted free agent, but decided the four-year, $38MM agreement he reached with Milwaukee would have placed too great a strain on the salary cap. “It was tough to decide to leave because you’re coming off the highest of highs and I loved my time in Cleveland,” Dellavedova said. “Fun team, great group of guys, great organization and fans, obviously. But I had an opportunity here that I couldn’t pass up to see how good I could be as a starting point guard and really challenge myself. You never know if or when that opportunity will come along again.”