OCTOBER 17: Ellenson has been waived, per NBA.com’s official transaction log, putting him on track to join the Herd this fall.
OCTOBER 16: The Bucks have signed free agent big man Henry Ellenson to a non-guaranteed contract, according to RealGM’s transaction log. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, Eric Nehm of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter).
The 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Ellenson appeared in 83 regular season games for the Pistons, Knicks, Nets, and Raptors from 2016-21. He hasn’t been in the league since his 10-day contract with Toronto expired in March 2021, having competed in Spain and Japan since then.
Although he hasn’t been in the NBA for a while, Ellenson is still just 27 years old and played well in the G League earlier in his career, averaging 20.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 33.9 minutes per game across 73 regular season outings.
In all likelihood, the Bucks’ signing of Ellenson is designed to secure his NBAGL rights and to ensure that he earns an Exhibit 10 bonus worth a maximum of $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd this season. Assuming that’s the plan, he’ll be waived in the coming days before reporting to the Herd later this month.
Milwaukee now has a full preseason roster of 21 players. The Bucks will have to get down to a maximum of 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way deals) by next Monday afternoon.
Why do teams sign a player only to release him?
To secure his G-League rights