Steve Novak made it into only three games with the Bucks before a sprained left MCL prematurely ended his season, but the sharpshooter who played his high school and college ball in the state of Wisconsin has a strong desire that those games not be the only ones he ever plays in a Bucks uniform, as he makes clear to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 32-year-old is on an expiring contract but wants to re-sign with the Bucks, even though they won’t have more than non-Bird rights to him, and it appears he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. “Being home has been unbelievable,” Novak said. “I see the team that we have and hopefully I can be a big part of that. I am a free agent this summer, but that’s my goal [to stay with the Bucks].”
See more from the Central Division:
- Coach Fred Hoiberg accepts blame for the struggles of the Bulls, pointing to the team’s underwhelming offense and lack of killer instinct, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relays (Twitter link). His willingness to acknowledge and work to remedy those problems endears him to management, Johnson observes.
- The Cavaliers won’t rule out signing a player to fill their open roster spot, but it’s likely they won’t, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). That’s even though Mo Williams is suffering from continued soreness in his left knee that’s prompted a visit to noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, the team announced. No surgery is set for Williams at this point, however. Iman Shumpert will miss the rest of the regular season with left knee trouble, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs, according to the team.
- The Cavs have assigned Sasha Kaun and Jordan McRae to the D-League, the team revealed in separate announcements. They’ll provide playoff help to the Canton Charge, who are reportedly poised to lose John Holland to an NBA contract with Boston.