The Bucks have signed free agent forward Justise Winslow to an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jamal Collier of ESPN (Twitter link).
After spending his first five seasons in Miami — the team that drafted him 10th overall back in 2015 — Winslow has bounced around the league in recent years, suiting up for the Grizzlies, Clippers and Trail Blazers. The 28-year-old signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors last season, but he didn’t appear in an NBA game for Toronto.
Winslow’s 2023/24 debut was delayed due to ankle surgery. He spent most of last season with the Raptors 905 (Toronto’s G League affiliate), averaging 15.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .476/.295/.667 shooting in 22 regular season contests with the NBAGL club (27.0 MPG).
In July, Shams Charania reported that a handful of veteran free agents — including Winslow — worked out for the Bucks.
Since the Bucks have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Andre Jackson with a significant partial guarantee, their standard roster looks pretty set. That means Winslow will almost certainly be waived and headed to the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee’s affiliate) to open ’24/25. Assuming Wisconsin acquires his returning player rights from the Raptors 905, Winslow could receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the Herd.
The Bucks’ 21-man offseason roster is full once again following the addition of Winslow. The team released James Akinjo earlier on Thursday to make room for the newcomer.
If healthy Winslow can be a serviceable 2 way player… He showed flashes with the Heat , but couldn’t stay healthy…. At the beginning of his Heat tenure he had difficulty picking up the Heat rigid system, it seemed like he put extra pressure on himself…. He’s worth the gamble, he can be a perimeter defender, and for a while he played the point guard position when the Heat had injuries….he can create, but was never a great 3 point shooter, more around the basket, driving, mid range…