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Damian Lillard: ‘I’m Not A Player That’s Breaking Down’

August 16th, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Perennial All-Star Damian Lillard insists he’s still the same player that carved out a Hall of Fame career in Portland despite a disappointing first season with the Bucks.

“I’m not a player that’s breaking down,” Lillard told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a subscriber-only story. “I live a clean, good, healthy life, so I can do it. I can do the same (expletive) I did two, three years ago. I can do it right now.”

The uncertainty surrounding Lillard was the biggest story of last offseason. Lillard was expected to be traded to his preferred destination, Miami. Instead, the Trail Blazers dealt him to Milwaukee.

After averaging a career-best 32.2 points per game in 2022/23, his scoring output dropped to 24.3 PPG in his first season with the Bucks. That was to be expected, considering he was teaming up with another superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo but his shooting percentage was just 42.4%, including 35.4% on 3-point tries, well below his career averages.

“I think when the trade happened everybody was like, ‘Well, Milwaukee’s gonna win it,’ and I think when it didn’t always look the way they wanted it to look or thought it was gonna look, and I wasn’t looking how I looked in Portland, it was like, oh, what’s going on with Dame? Why is Dame not doing this?” he said. “But when for a greater part of the season I was still averaging about 26 points. Like, if you really think about that – what standard do y’all hold me to if I’m scoring 26 points and averaging seven assists and I’m not feeling great? I’m going through a lot of stuff. That’s just the truth.”

Injuries took a toll. During various points of the season, Liullard was dealing with calf, ankle, groin, adductor and Achilles issues. He was also going through a divorce and had to deal with playing and living in a new city after the trade finally came to fruition.

“There was a lot of change, a lot of stress, you know?” he said. “I think now, having an opportunity to get myself in order and kind of start pushing forward to next season.”

The oddsmakers peg the Bucks fourth among Eastern Conference teams heading into 2024/25, behind the defending champion Celtics, Sixers and Knicks. That’s just fine by Lillard as he continues to chase his first ring.

“The fact that we’re there and we’re under the radar is perfect because they’re gonna think nothing of us and then they’re gonna be like…You gotta face the truth, eventually. That’s how that usually works,” he said.

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And-Ones: Marquee Matchups, Cap Room, Spending, Most Improved Teams

August 16th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA revealed its full schedule for the 2024/25 regular season on Thursday, and while there generally aren’t any surprises on that schedule (it’s not like the NFL, where a team plays fewer than half of the league’s other clubs), it’s still worth circling specific dates and marquee matchups.

Zach Harper of The Athletic, Chris Mannix of SI.com, and ESPN did just that, with Harper highlighting 35 games he’s looking forward to, Mannix naming 10 games to watch, and ESPN identifying 23 games not to miss.

Unsurprisingly, the Knicks/Celtics regular season opener (October 22), Paul George‘s return to Los Angeles with the Sixers (November 6), and Klay Thompson‘s return to Golden State with the Mavericks (Nov. 12) made all three lists.

The other two matchups that showed up on all three lists? Wizards at Hawks on Oct. 28 in the first regular season matchup between this year’s top two draft picks (Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr) and Spurs at Thunder on Oct. 30 in this season’s first Victor Wembanyama/Chet Holmgren showdown.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • A total of seven NBA teams operated under the cap and used room to make moves this offseason. As Keith Smith of Spotrac writes, those clubs used their cap space in very different ways, with some – like the Sixers and Thunder – making splashes in free agency, some (such as the Hornets) focusing on taking in salary in trades, and one (the Jazz) using most of its room to renegotiate a star player’s contract.
  • Which NBA teams have been the “cheapest” in recent years and which have been most willing to spend? Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores that questions, ranking each team by its spending from 2017-24 and considering whether clubs should have been willing to invest more on those rosters. The Warriors, Clippers, and Bucks have been the biggest spenders over the last seven years, while the Bulls, Pistons, and Hornets are at the other end of the list.
  • In a three-part series for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranks all 30 NBA clubs based on how much they improved their rosters with their offseason moves. Aldridge’s list, which is sorted by which teams improved most in the short term rather than which clubs made the “best” moves, features the Thunder, Sixers, and Magic at the top. Not coincidentally, those clubs made three of the summer’s biggest free agent signings, adding Isaiah Hartenstein, Paul George, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, respectively.
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Terence Davis Works Out For Bucks

August 14th, 2024 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent shooting guard Terence Davis recently held a workout with the Bucks, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Davis, 27, began last season with the Rip City Remix, Portland’s affiliate in the G League. He appeared in just three games before suffering a torn Achilles that ended his season.

Davis, who chose the G League over a more lucrative offer in Europe, is hoping to prove that he’s healthy enough to return to the NBA after a one-year hiatus. He last played for Sacramento during the 2022/23 season, averaging 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 64 games, primarily in a reserve role.

Davis’ NBA career began in 2019 when he signed with Toronto after going undrafted out of Mississippi. After a year and a half with the Raptors, he was traded to the Kings at the 2021 deadline. He’s been an explosive scorer off the bench for most of his time in the NBA, posting .434/.366/.826 shooting numbers in 227 games.

Even if Davis gets an offer to join Milwaukee for training camp, it won’t be easy for him to win a roster spot. The Bucks already have 14 players with fully guaranteed contracts, along with Andre Jackson, who holds a $946K guarantee on his $1.89MM deal for the upcoming season.

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International Notes: NBA Candidates, Besson, Bender, Cannady

August 12th, 2024 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward Guerschon Yabusele, who recently expressed a desire to return to the NBA, tops Mark Deeks of HoopsHype’s list of 10 players from the 2024 Olympics who deserve a look from NBA teams. Two of Yabusele’s teammates on the French national team — Mathias Lessort (No. 2) and Isaia Cordinier (No. 8) — also made the cut.

Here are a few more international notes:

  • Bucks draft-and-stash prospect Hugo Besson, the No. 58 pick of the 2022 draft, will play for Turkey’s Manisa Buyuksehir Belediye Spor during the 2024/25 season, per Fersu Yahyabeyoglu of Eurobasket.com (hat tip to Keith Smith of Spotrac). The French guard played in Serbia and Italy last season.
  • Former No. 4 overall pick Dragan Bender is rumored to be joining GeVi Napoli in Italy, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Bender suffered major ACL injuries in May 2021 and December 2022 and evidently is still recovering. “Bender is part of the team philosophy we are building,” Napoli athletic director Alessandro Dalla Salda told La Repubblica. “But to get back on top he needs time, so we may sign a player while waiting for his return.” The 26-year-old last played in the NBA in 2019/20.
  • Guard Devin Cannady, who played 13 games with the Magic over two different seasons, has signed with Panionios B.C., the Greek club announced in a press release. It’s the first international stop for the former Princeton star, who played for the NBA G League’s Birmingham Squadron (the Pelicans’ affiliate) in ’23/24.
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Knicks/Celtics, Wolves/Lakers To Play On Opening Night

August 12th, 2024 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s opening night schedule will feature home games for the league’s two most accomplished franchises, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Celtics will host the Knicks in the early game, while the Lakers will host the Timberwolves in the late game.

The Celtics, who won their record 18th NBA title in June, will receive their championship rings on opening night, which will take place on Tuesday, October 22. That game will be the first for the new-look Knicks, featuring Mikal Bridges.

The game between the Lakers and Timberwolves will feature several stars who participated in Saturday’s gold medal game in Paris, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers and Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert of the Wolves.

Both games will air on TNT Sports, which will be distributing NBA games for one final year in 2024/25, assuming their lawsuit against the league doesn’t result in a new broadcast rights deal that begins in ’25/26.

The full regular schedule for the 2024/25 NBA season is expected to be released later this week, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. In the meantime, here are a few more notable matchups, courtesy of Charania:

  • The new-look Sixers, led by former MVP Joel Embiid, reigning Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey, and free agent addition Paul George, will host the Bucks on October 23 to open their regular season (Twitter link).
  • The first regular season game at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood will be played on October 23, when the Clippers host the Suns (Twitter link).
  • Klay Thompson and the Mavericks will visit the Warriors on November 12 in Thompson’s first trip back to the Bay Area (Twitter link). That will also be the first game of the in-season tournament (NBA Cup) for both Dallas and Golden State (Twitter link).
  • The NBA Finals rematches between the Celtics and Mavericks will take place on January 25 in Dallas and February 6 in Boston (Twitter link).
  • In case you missed it, 2024’s Christmas Day matchups were reported last week.
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Contract Details: Mykhailiuk, Eubanks, Swider, Two-Ways

August 12th, 2024 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The four-year contract that veteran swingman Svi Mykhailiuk signed with the Jazz only includes $3.5MM in guaranteed money, Hoops Rumors has learned — that $3.5MM is the salary Mykhailiuk will earn in 2024/25.

The second and third years of Mykhailiuk’s deal, worth $3.675MM and $3.85MM respectively, are non-guaranteed, as is his $4.025MM team option for the 2027/28 season. The 27-year-old could earn up to a total of $15.05MM if he plays out the entire contract, but $11.55MM of that money is non-guaranteed.

June 30 represents Mykhailiuk’s annual salary guarantee date, so the Jazz would have to waive him by June 30, 2025 to avoid being on the hook for his full ’25/26 salary. That deadline also applies to each of the following two seasons.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

  • Drew Eubanks will earn a $5MM guaranteed salary from the Jazz this season, with a $4.75MM non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26, Hoops Rumors has learned. Both Mykahiliuk and Eubanks were signed using a portion of Utah’s leftover cap room.
  • Cole Swider‘s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers is worth the minimum salary and includes Exhibit 9 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. It doesn’t feature Exhibit 10 language, which suggests the plan probably isn’t for Swider to join Indiana’s G League team if he’s waived during training camp. The third-year forward vie for a spot on the Pacers’ 15-man regular season roster.
  • The two-way contracts recently signed by Enrique Freeman with the Pacers and Anzejs Pasecniks with the Bucks are each one-year deals, so both players will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.
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Bucks Sign Anzejs Pasecniks To Two-Way Contract

August 12th, 2024 at 6:35am CST by Rory Maher

AUGUST 12: Pasecniks officially signed his two-way contract over the weekend, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

AUGUST 1: The Bucks are signing free agent big man Anzejs Pasecniks to a two-way contract, agent Arturs Kalnitis tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

A 7’1″ center from Latvia, Pasecniks was a first-round pick (25th overall) back in 2017, but he never signed a rookie scale contract and his draft rights were renounced in 2019. He eventually landed with the Wizards, spending parts of two seasons with the club from 2019-21.

The 28-year-old holds career averages of 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 28 NBA games, all with Washington (15.8 minutes per contest).

Pasecniks has spent the past three seasons in Europe, playing for Real Betis (Spain), Metropolitans 92 (France) and Palencia (Spain). While his team struggled mightily in 2023/24 (Palencia finished 6-28 and was relegated to the second-tier division), Pasecniks was productive individually, averaging 13.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 60.4% from the floor in 34 games (21.9 minutes).

Pasecniks, who played for the Latvian national team at last year’s World Cup, has spent most of his professional career in Europe, playing for VEF Riga (Latvia) and Gran Carania (Spain) from 2012-19.

Milwaukee’s three-two way spots are currently occupied by Ryan Rollins, Jaylin Galloway and Stanley Umude, which means one of those players will need to be cut to make roster space for Pasecniks, who will provide some frontcourt depth for the Bucks.

[Update: Galloway has been waived.]

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G League Team Likely To Stay In Oshkosh

August 11th, 2024 at 9:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ NBA G League team,  is close to an agreement that would keep the franchise in Oshkosh for the foreseeable future, Justin Marville of the Oshkosh Northwestern reports. The Herd’s future at the arena was uncertain because of claims that the arena’s management had violated the current lease. A judge granted a motion for a different venue management company to oversee the operations of Oshkosh Arena. The Herd had opt-out provisions that could have released the team from its lease agreement due to the arena’s financial difficulties.
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Bucks Waive Jaylin Galloway

August 1st, 2024 at 7:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bucks have waived two-way player Jaylin Galloway to create a roster spot for reported new two-way addition Anzejs Pasecniks, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

An Australian-born swingman, Galloway opted to forgo college in favor of playing for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League as a developmental prospect beginning in 2020. He eventually won a championship with Sydney in 2022 and has also played for a pair of NBL1 North semi-pro teams, the Mackay Meteors and Ipswich Force.

Galloway, 21, inked a two-way deal with the Bucks in March this past season. However, he didn’t appear in a game for Milwaukee during his tenure with the team.

Across seven contests with the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate squad, the Wisconsin Herd, Galloway averaged 4.7 points on a .406/.143/.667 shooting line, along with 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

In Galloway’s stead, Pasecniks now joins the Bucks’ two remaining two-way players, point guard Ryan Rollins and shooting guard Stanley Umude.

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