Thanasis Antetokounmpo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Beilein, Sexton, Mykhailiuk, Antetokounmpos

February 2nd, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers seem distracted by the trade deadline as they rack up embarrassing losses, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The latest came last night as the Warriors broke a 10-game road losing streak with a 19-point blowout in Cleveland.

“Every loss is hitting me really hard and hitting us … I know it’s hitting me hard, I can’t answer for other people,” coach John Beilein said. “It’s just trying to find solutions and trying to find a better way to get our guys to play harder and smarter, which will lead to wins. But there’s some things that just happen because we’re young and some things happen because of persistence in our effort and some things happen because we’re just missing some pieces in the roster here and there.”

The team may have a different attitude and a different look once the deadline passes Thursday afternoon. Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova are all veterans on expiring contracts who may be sent elsewhere. Kevin Love, the team’s highest-paid player, has displayed frustration throughout the season and is also a candidate to be moved.

One question Beilein couldn’t answer last night is whether he still has the support of the players as the Cavaliers have fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 13-37.

“I think that our guys have to measure themselves,” he said. “Are they bought in to playing winning basketball? I don’t think it has anything to do with a particular coach or coaches, whatever, they’ve just got to go and play hard.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton was “shocked” to be passed over for the Rising Stars Challenge, Fedor adds in a separate story. “I knew I deserved to be there,” said Sexton, who also wasn’t invited to the game last year. “I knew the hard work every day, coming here and playing the game. I knew I deserved to be out there, but I took the good with it. Hey, just continue to build. Can’t be too mad because it is what it is.”
The Pistons are benefiting from an under-the-radar trade last February that brought in Svi Mykhailiuk from the Lakers in exchange for Reggie Bullock, notes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. “He’s on track to be one of our core pieces as far as his shooting ability, his ability to make plays off the dribble,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s right with Luke (Kennard) as far as being able to put the ball on the floor, run pick and rolls. And the kid’s a sponge – you can get on him, you can coach him, you can teach him.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo were thrilled to be in the starting lineup together on Friday, relays Eric Woodyard of ESPN. It marked the first start of Thanasis’ NBA career, and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made the decision because it was Greek Night in Milwaukee.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/14/19

November 14th, 2019 at 8:57pm CST by clarkcrum

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

One day after assigning the pair, the Bucks have recalled Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Dragan Bender from the team’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to a tweet from the team’s official account (link). Bender scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Herd’s win over the Capital City Go-Go on Wednesday, while Antetokounmpo finished with 14 points.
Like Milwaukee, the Kings recalled rookies Wenyen Gabriel and Justin James just one day after sending them both down to the team’s G League affiliate for a game (Twitter link). The Stockton Kings beat the Sioux Falls Skyforce yesterday, with Gabriel scoring 20 points and James adding 17.
Per a team press release, the Timberwolves have recalled forward Keita Bates-Diop from the Iowa Wolves, the team’s G League affiliate. Bates-Diop is averaging 22.5 points and 4.5 rebounds over two games in the G League this season.
The Clippers have recalled both center Mfiondu Kabengele and guard Derrick Walton Jr. from their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, the team’s official PR account tweeted out this afternoon. The pair was assigned on Tuesday.
With no practice on the schedule for today, the Grizzlies assigned guards Grayson Allen and De’Anthony Melton to the Memphis Hustle for their practice, according to a tweet from Memphis’ PR account (link). Allen’s assignment is in connection with rehab of his sore left ankle, while Melton’s is tied to a long-term conditioning and performance plan.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/13/19

November 13th, 2019 at 10:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Bucks assigned Thanasis Antetokounmpo and former lottery draft pick Dragan Bender to their G League affiliate in Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Herd, according to a press release. The 6’6″ Antetokounmpo, older brother to reigning MVP Giannis, has played exactly once, for six minutes during Milwaukee’s 123-91 November 1st defeat of the Magic. He is on a two-year, minimum-salary deal. Bender has not seen NBA court action at all this season.
The Thunder have recalled Justin Patton from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. The injury-plagued third year center out of Creighton has also played just six minutes in one game this season, a 120-92 October 27th rout of the Warriors.
The Kings initially assigned third-year power forward Caleb Swanigan and rookies Wenyen Gabriel, Justin James and to the team’s NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, according to a team press release. ABC10 Sacramento reporter Sean Cunningham tweets that Swanigan was initially going to suit up for Stockton tonight, but due to an injured ankle was recalled back to Sacramento instead (Twitter link). Gabriel and James aren’t in Sacramento’s rotation but will get a chance to play in Stockton tonight.
The Sixers assigned second-year power forward Jonah Bolden to their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, tweets Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. The UCLA vet has averaged one point a game in two appearances this season.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo Draws Team USA’s Ire

September 7th, 2019 at 3:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The FIBA World Cup was bound to create some awkward moments among NBA players. One of those occurred at the end of Team USA’s 69-53 victory over Greece on Saturday, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst details.

Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, drew Team USA’s ire when he fouled Harrison Barnes from behind late in the game as Barnes went up for a dunk. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and Giannis had to be separated afterward after exchanging words as Brown pointed toward Thanasis, according to Windhorst.

Bucks teammates Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are on Team USA’s roster.

The teams didn’t hold a postgame handshake in order to avoid another confrontation. Team USA was upset that Thanasis, who signed a two-year contract with Milwaukee in July, didn’t immediately apologize to Barnes, who was uninjured.

“The [lack of apology] escalated it,” Marcus Smart said to Windhorst and other media members. “At that moment, you’ve got to take it for what it is. Regardless of whether you feel like it was wrong or right, it was wrong.”

Giannis scored 15 points but sat out the fourth quarter. Greek officials said he was rested as the team tries to qualify for the quarterfinals on Monday. He was too upset to talk to the media afterward, according to an Associated Press report.

Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals with the victory.

Canada, Greece, Turkey Set World Cup Rosters

August 30th, 2019 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

While USA Basketball had its share of withdrawals this summer leading up to the 2019 World Cup, there’s a strong case for Team Canada being the national team hit hardest by a lack of participation from NBA players.

Team Canada formally announced its 12-man World Cup roster today. As expected, the group features just two NBA players: Kings point guard Cory Joseph and Magic center Khem Birch. As we outlined earlier this month, the list of Canadians not participating in the World Cup includes Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tristan Thompson, Trey Lyles, Dillon Brooks, Dwight Powell, RJ Barrett, and several other NBA players.

The national teams for Greece and Turkey also announced their final 12-man rosters for the World Cup, and both squads feature multiple current NBA players.

Bucks teammates – and brothers – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo headline the Greek squad, with former NBA players like Kostas Papanikolaou, Nick Calathes, and Georgios Papagiannis helping to fill out the roster.

On the Turkish national team, Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, and Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz are the headliners. Former Celtics and Cavaliers center Semih Erden is also part of Turkey’s 12-man roster.

The World Cup will officially get underway in China on Saturday with an eight-game schedule, though Canada, Greece, and Turkey won’t take the court until Sunday.

Bucks Sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

July 16th, 2019 at 11:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 16: The Bucks have officially signed Antetokounmpo, the team announced today in a press release.

“Thanasis is a young player with great experience at the top level overseas,” Bucks GM Jon Horst said in a statement. “He brings toughness, athleticism, character and a high IQ. We are thrilled to have him join the Bucks.”

JULY 7: Thanasis Antetokounmpo has agreed to a two-year contract to join his brother in Milwaukee, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Greek outlet Gazzetta.gr reported earlier in the week that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were finalizing a two-year guaranteed deal.

Charania confirms (via Twitter) that Antetokounmpo will get a guaranteed two-year minimum-salary deal. I’ll be worth about $3.15MM over two years, including $1.45MM in 2019/20.

An older sibling of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis has brief NBA experience, playing two games for the Knicks on a 10-day contract during the 2015/16 season.

The 26-year-old spent this season with Panathinaikos, leading the team to a second straight Greek Basket League title. He was also MVP of the Greek All-Star Game in 2018. Before returning to Greece Thanasis spent three years in the G League, playing for both Delaware and Westchester.

2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results

August 23rd, 2017 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s four new franchises to add the returning rights to 11 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 22 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to nine players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, though no team can lose more than two players. Adam Johnson recently outlined the full details of the expansion draft process in a piece for 2 Ways & 10 Days.

The G League’s four new teams this year are affiliates for the Hawks (Erie BayHawks), Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle), Bucks (Wisconsin Herd), and Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario). The Erie BayHawks have been in the G League for years but are technically an expansion team since the old iteration of the BayHawks was purchased by the Magic and moved to Lakeland, Florida — the Lakeland Magic will retain returning rights for former BayHawks players.

The players added today by the G League’s four expansion teams won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s not all that common for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas, if they’re not already on an NBA or international roster. Still, the expansion draft gives the G League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.

Listed below are the results of today’s expansion draft, per the G League’s official announcement. The player’s former G League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:

Erie BayHawks (Hawks)

DeAndre Daniels (Raptors 905)
Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers)*
Ronald Roberts (Reno Bighorns)
Terran Petteway (Maine Red Claws)
Casey Prather (Windy City Bulls)
Jordan Crawford (Grand Rapids Drive)*
Jordan Sibert (Iowa Energy)
Beau Beech (Long Island Nets)
Raphiael Putney (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Luke Harangody (Lakeland Magic)
Will Bynum (Windy City Bulls)

Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)

Marquis Teague (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
D.J. Stephens (Iowa Energy)
Omari Johnson (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Jamaal Franklin (Long Island Nets)
Adonis Thomas (Grand Rapids Drive)
Manny Harris (Texas Legends)
Mark Tyndale (Reno Bighorns)
Jordon Crawford (Canton Charge)
Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks)
Terrence Drisdom (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)

Vince Hunter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Gracin Bakumanya (Northern Arizona Suns)
Perry Ellis (Greensboro Swarm)
Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws)
Josh Davis (Greensboro Swarm)
Michael Dunigan (Canton Charge)
Jarvis Summers (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
James Siakam (Raptors 905)
Kyle Casey (Northern Arizona Suns)
Cady Lalanne (Austin Spurs)
Tyler Harvey (Lakeland Magic)

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)

Andre Dawkins (Texas Legends)
Bryce Cotton (Oklahoma City Blue)
Corey Hawkins (Delaware 87ers)
Will Cummings (Delaware 87ers)
J.J. O’Brien (Salt Lake City Stars)
Jamil Wilson (South Bay Lakers)
Keith Steffeck (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Julian Jacobs (South Bay Lakers)
Aaron Craft (Salt Lake City Stars)
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)
Youssou Ndoye (Austin Spurs)

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are currently on an NBA roster. If they remain under contract and are assigned to the G League, they would join their current NBA team’s affiliate.

And-Ones: Ginobili, Beaubois, Arcidiacono

July 14th, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs‘ initial offer to unrestricted free agent Manu Ginobili was in the range of one-year, $3MM, but the team was forced to significantly increase its offer because of the Sixers, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (video link). Philadelphia offered Ginobili a two-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $16-$17MM in the first season, Wojnarowski notes. Sixers coach Brett Brown has an excellent relationship with the shooting guard dating back to his days as a Spurs assistant, the scribe adds.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Mavericks and unrestricted free agent point guard Rodrigue Beaubois continue to discuss a potential deal that would bring the former No. 25 overall pick back to Dallas, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). The 28-year-old last appeared in the NBA during the 2012/13 season when he played in 45 games for Dallas and averaged 4.0 points and 1.9 assists.
Ryan Arcidiacono‘s multiyear deal with the Spurs includes a partial guarantee for $75K this season, plus includes a number of trigger dates for further guarantees, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link).
The Bulls and Mavericks have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). The forward appeared in two games for the Knicks this past season.

Western Notes: Conley, Bogdanovic, Jazz Arena

June 14th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There is growing concern in the Grizzlies‘ front office that point guard Mike Conley might leave the team in free agency this summer, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old will be the top point guard on the market after spending nine years in Memphis. Begley says Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake will appear in a video presentation trying to convince Conley to remain with the team. Begley presents the item as possible good news for the Knicks, but it’s equally positive for all the teams planning to pursue Conley, and very negative for Memphis, which is hoping to keep the core of its perennial playoff team together. The Grizzlies still have the advantage of being able to offer Conley a five-year contract worth about $124MM, while other teams are limited to four years in the neighborhood of $92MM.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

The Suns will negotiate with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic now that his Turkish League season is over, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. This is the last season that Bogdanovic would be required to sign a rookie contract that would give him a salary of about $5.7MM over four years. If he waits until next offseason, Bogdanovic is free to negotiate any amount, starting with his draft year’s rookie salary scale.
A request for $22.7MM in public funding for renovations to Utah’s Vivant Arena was approved today by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, writes Jasen Lee of The Deseret News. The money, which will be awarded though tax increment financing over the next 25 years, makes up 18% of the total cost of the proposed $125MM project. It will include safety and security improvements, heating and air conditioning upgrades, a new solar panel system and plaza, concession, seating and premium suite improvements.
The Mavericks are planning a free agent camp June 22nd with Arnett Moultrie, Bobby Brown, Dominic McGuire and Nick Minnerath among the players invited, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who played two games for the Knicks this season, also received an invitation but has not confirmed that he will attend the camp (Twitter link).
The Spurs will hold a free agent camp Wednesday, Kennedy tweets, with Chris Copeland, Adonis Thomas, Victor Rudd, Scott Suggs, J.J. O’Brien and Darius Adams among those expected to attend.
The Timberwolves have had workouts for several veteran free agents, including Jimmer Fredette, Phil Pressey, Marquis Teague, Ryan Boatright, Mike James, Ra’shad James, Mark Lyons and Aaron Craft, tweets international journalist David Pick.

Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Antetokounmpo, Fisher

February 9th, 2016 at 7:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The presence of Kristaps Porzingis offers whomever is named the permanent coach of the Knicks hope, a luxury not enjoyed by the team’s last few hires, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes. Kurt Rambis, who was named interim coach after Derek Fisher was fired, believes the rookie will develop into the type of player others will want to play alongside, Bontemps adds. “Well, clearly he’s a player that is going to be around this franchise for a long time,” Rambis said. “He’s a rookie, and I think a lot of us forget that he’s 20 years old and he’s still growing and filling out as a human being. He’s going to be learning today, tomorrow, for the rest of the year, the next five or six years, until he figures out where he is and how he can play in this league. But at some point in time he’s going to be a dominant force in this league.”

As for who may be coaching Porzingis next season, Jeff Hornacek, Tom Thibodeau, Brian Shaw and Luke Walton are all reportedly in the running. Here’s more from New York:

Longtime Phil Jackson confidant Charley Rosen suggests that the alleged physical encounter between Fisher and Matt Barnes this past fall indeed played a role in Jackson’s decision to terminate Fisher’s employment as coach Monday, as Rosen writes for Today’s Fastbreak. Jackson called the situation embarrassing but said it was no factor in the coach’s dismissal. Rosen also writes that he foresees Rambis funneling more plays on offense to Porzingis.
The decision to fire Fisher was an admission of failure by Jackson in his choice of Fisher as coach, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. The team has faced a disconnect between coaches and Jackson over the executive’s insistence upon running the triangle offense, Isola adds. “That’s their problem,” said one NBA head coach of the Knicks. “They have a coach in Phil who doesn’t want to get on the bench and coach but is coaching the team anyway. That will always be the problem.”
Jackson discounted Rajon Rondo‘s assertion that he wouldn’t be a good fit in the triangle offense, as the executive believes it is a system every player can thrive in, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I know there was a bit about Rondo the other day that kind of came up and it was laughable because all players can fit in a sound offense,’’ Jackson said.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo has returned to the Westchester Knicks, New York’s D-League affiliate, now that his 10-day contract has expired, the team announced. New York can still opt to sign Antetokounmpo to one more 10-day pact this season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.