Bucks wing Pat Connaughton has sustained a fracture to the fourth metacarpal (ring finger) of his right hand, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The injury occurred during the third quarter of Thursday’s loss to Phoenix as Connaughton defended a Chris Paul drive (video link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
The Bucks haven’t set a timeline for how much time Connaughton might need to recover from the injury, but postgame comments from head coach Mike Budenholzer and teammate Khris Middleton suggested the club is preparing to be without the 29-year-old for the foreseeable future.
“We’re trying to figure out kind of who will see him next, what the next step is,” Budenholzer said, per Owczarski. “Unfortunate, but I think we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to return. When that is, not exactly sure. But, so, we’ll see.”
“Very unfortunate, man,” Middleton said. “He’s one of our bigger guys, especially off the bench. He plays a huge and key role for us, coming in the starting lineup every now and then, just being that glue guy for us on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be tough without him for a while, but hopefully he can get back sooner than later.”
Connaughton had been in the midst of a career year, having averaged 10.1 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .467/.407/.811 shooting in 54 games (27.0 MPG) this season for the defending champions.
The timing of the injury is especially unfortunate for the Bucks, who traded away some of their wing depth on Thursday, sending Donte DiVincenzo to Sacramento and Rodney Hood to the Clippers in a four-team deal that brought Serge Ibaka to Milwaukee.
With DiVincenzo and Hood no longer options, reserves like Wesley Matthews and Jordan Nwora could be in line for increased roles until Connaughton is able to return. The Bucks also have two open spots on their 15-man roster (three once Greg Monroe‘s 10-day contract expires) and will likely be active on the buyout market.
I still can’t make sense of the the Divincenzo trade
Found that a peculiar move that got lost in the flurry, I get not wanting to pick up the RFA but they got worse a touch this year for 2 2nds? They technically sold as the world champs, game out of 1st…didn’t see that coming
They also got rid of 2 dead weights in Hood and Ojeleye, and picked up Ibaka.
If you watched the Suns game last night, you’d see why they made the trade. They were outscored in the paint 68-50, and have an undersized Bobby Portis trying to guard the likes of Deandre Ayton and Joel Embiid. They need Ibaka to fill in those big man rotation minutes, and he is a proven champion. DiVincenzo has been a shell of his former self, and there’s no guarantee he would have even cracked the playoff rotation, especially after the buyout market. Bucks may have sold low, but they are in win-now mode. Pick up a guy you know will play in the playoffs plus some future assets to use in a trade over the summer. I’m going to miss the Big Ragu, but it’s a smart, calculated move by Horst
I could see them, or just about anyone needing defensive wing depth, picking up DeAndre Bembry after the Nets waived him.
Bembry should have multiple offers.
I see Bazemore or Daniel House or maybe Gary Harris when he’s released…
I really think that there is three possibilities of players to bring in Isiah Thomas, PJ Dozier or maybe even Eric Bledsoe if he is bought out. With two spots available the second spot should be used on a center which I wonder what the availability of Gasol or Jordan ( Lakers) will be .
Dozier had ACL surgery in December and is out for the season.
I just saw I never really said I was very smart lol. But got Gasol right apparently he is on their radar
LoL to Isiah Thomas