Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lillard Puts Aside Past Issues With Beverley

February 12th, 2024 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks’ biggest trade deadline move was the acquisition of pesky guard Patrick Beverley from the Sixers. General manager Jon Horst said Beverley provides “point-of-attack defense and defensive versatility.”

“He’s proven to be able to guard multiple positions in his career. He is an impactful point-of-attack defender,” the Bucks GM said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He plays with a physicality and a toughness that we think will help us.”

Damian Lillard has had some tense moments with Beverley during his career but he’s glad to have him as a Bucks teammate, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report tweets. “He brings an edge and a defensive tenacity on the perimeter that we need,” Lillard said. “There are not many players who bring it on a nightly like him. I look forward to working together. Our past personal issues don’t trump an opportunity to win a championship.”

Mitch Kupchak Moving Into Advisory Role With Hornets

February 12th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak will leave his post to become an organizational advisor to the franchise, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The search for a replacement will begin immediately, and new owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin are expected to hire someone before the end of the regular season, Wojnarowski adds. Sources tell ESPN that Kupchak will continue his current duties until his successor is named.

Wojnarowski hears that several current general managers will be among the targets of the search, including the Sixers’ Elton Brand, the Pelicans’ Trajan Langdon, the Cavaliers’ Mike Gansey and the Clippers’ Trent Redden. Sources tell Woj that some assistant GMs will be considered too, such as the Nets’ Jeff Peterson, the Wizards’ Travis Schlenk and the Kings’ Wes Wilcox, all of whom worked for the Hawks when Schnall was a minority owner in Atlanta.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer also lists Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Knicks assistant GM Frank Zanin as potential candidates.

Schnall and Plotkin began plotting a new course after purchasing a majority interest in the Hornets in August, Wojnarowski states. They are focused on rebuilding around a young roster as the team parted with veterans such as Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington in recent trades. Plans are also in the works for a $275MM arena renovation and a $60MM practice facility.

Kupchak will leave behind a mixed record during his time with the Hornets, Boone observes. He was able to fix the cap situation and make the team competitive after taking over as general manager in 2018, but his signature move — the signing of Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM contract in 2020 despite a history of injuries — didn’t pay off as Kupchak had hoped. Hayward was traded this week to Oklahoma City for a modest return.

Drafting LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller may leave the Hornets with a brighter future, but Boone notes that Kupchak had his share of draft misses, including in 2021 when Charlotte selected James Bouknight, Kai Jones and Scottie Lewis, who are no longer with the team.

Kings Waive Robin Lopez

February 8th, 2024 at 11:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially waived newly acquired center Robin Lopez, as expected, per an announcement from the team.

Sacramento acquired Lopez from Milwaukee in a salary dump deal on Thursday, with the Bucks sending enough cash to the Kings in the trade to make it worth their while. With JaVale McGee and Alex Len already on the roster as backups for starting center Domantas Sabonis, the Kings weren’t interested in hanging onto another veteran big man, preferring to open up that 15th roster spot.

Lopez appeared in 16 games for the Bucks this season, recording just 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 7-of-19 shooting in 65 total minutes of action.

Sacramento will eat Lopez’s minimum-salary ($2,019,706) cap hit and he’ll be free to sign with any team except for Milwaukee once he clears waivers.

Bucks Send Robin Lopez, Cash To Kings

February 8th, 2024 at 10:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:13pm: The trade is official, per a press release from the Bucks. Milwaukee acquired the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis, the 59th overall pick in 2015, from Sacramento in the deal.

1:59pm: The Bucks are dealing little-used big man Robin Lopez to the Kings along with cash considerations, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). He’s expected to be waived by Sacramento and become a free agent.

The cost-cutting move by Milwaukee will open up a roster spot and save it $8.6MM in luxury tax penalties. This trade deadline is the last time teams in the second tax apron are allowed to send out cash in trades, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter links).

Lopez was on a veteran’s minimum salary deal, so Sacramento didn’t have to match a salary or use a traded player exception to pull off the deal. The Kings had an open roster spot to make the trade.

Lopez, 35, has appeared in 16 this season, including two starts, but averaged just 4.1 minutes in those appearances.

Bucks Acquire Beverley From Sixers For Payne, Second-Rounder

February 8th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Rory Maher

8:38pm: The Bucks and Sixers have each put out a press release officially confirming the deal.

12:43pm: The Bucks are acquiring Patrick Beverley from the Sixers, he announced (via Twitter). Philadelphia will receive Cameron Payne and Milwaukee’s 2027 second-round pick, according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic (All Twitter links).

Both players are on expiring minimum-salary contracts, so neither the Bucks nor the 76ers will have financial commitments to the veteran guards beyond this season.

The Bucks have reportedly been scouring the trade market in search of help on the defensive end. The team is currently 33-18, but Milwaukee ranks just 18th in the league in defense.

Beverley, 35, is a three-time All-Defensive team member, and while he’s no longer in his prime, he still ranks as a positive contributor on that end. It’s worth noting that Beverley previously played under new Bucks head coach Doc Rivers while they were employed by the Clippers.

As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, sending out a defensive-minded veteran like Beverley might mean Philadelphia is confident about signing Kyle Lowry via buyout. Lowry is currently on the Hornets after being traded by the Heat.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported (via Twitter) on Thursday afternoon that Milwaukee was looking at Jazz guard Kris Dunn and Pelicans wing Naji Marshall to improve its defense. Perhaps the asking price for Dunn was too steep, and the Bucks decided to pivot to Beverley.

Payne, 29, is a former lottery pick who didn’t find much success over his first four seasons, but he resurrected his NBA career after a solid multiyear stint with Phoenix. Payne was traded to San Antonio in the offseason, waived, and then signed a one-year deal with Milwaukee. He has averaged 6.2 points and 2.3 assists while shooting 39.7% from three-point range in 47 games this season (14.9 minutes).

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Sixers, Bogdanovic, Burks, Celtics, Hayward, More

February 8th, 2024 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Both the Knicks and Sixers have had trade conversations with the Pistons about the possibility of acquiring both Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears that Detroit sought forward Tobias Harris in those conversations about Bogdanovic, noting that Harris has been a player Philadelphia is reluctant to trade. Fischer doesn’t specifically mention Harris, but says the 76ers made “no progress” in their talks with the Pistons, whereas the Knicks are believed to still be engaged with Detroit.

This is just my speculation, but presumably the return in a trade that sends Bogdanovic and Burks to the Knicks would be built around Evan Fournier‘s expiring contract and draft compensation.

Here are a few more rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

Barring a late surprise, the Celtics may be done making moves on the trade market, says Fischer (Twitter link). Boston was expected to explore a move for a wing after acquiring big man Xavier Tillman on Wednesday, but Fischer’s report suggests there’s not optimism that the team will find another deal in the coming hours.
A source close to the situation reiterated to Marc Stein (Substack link) that Gordon Hayward won’t seek a buyout from the Hornets if he remains with the team through the deadline. According to Begley, Charlotte sought a first-round pick from at least one potential trade partner that inquired about Hayward. That’s not a realistic asking price unless perhaps the Hornets were willing to take on an unwanted multiyear contract or two.
Raptors point guard Dennis Schröder is among the players the Bucks have expressed interest in, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Central Notes: Hield, Milton, Brown, White, Drummond, Caruso

February 7th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Buddy Hield has been involved in trade rumors since before the start of training camp, but his Pacers teammates hope he won’t be going anywhere, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Hield may be considered expendable because he’s headed for unrestricted free agency after he and the team were unable to reach an extension agreement. Although Hield’s $18.6MM expiring contract could bring a nice return, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell both told Dopirak that his shooting skills are too valuable to part with.

“I think the one thing that people need to understand with Buddy Hield — and I’ve played with him my whole career — is the gravity that he has as a basketball player,” Haliburton said. “His spacing even when he’s not making shots — which isn’t often, I mean, he’s one of the best shooters who’s ever touched a basketball — his gravity when he’s on the floor and in our stack actions and in our movement actions, a lot of times, you have to respect what he does even if he’s not making shots in the game. You have to run two at them and that kind of opens up everything for us.”

Dopirak notes that Hield is having a subpar season, even though Indiana has developed into one of the league’s best offenses. His scoring has dropped to 12.0 PPG after he averaged 16.8 PPG last year, and his three-point shooting percentage and volume have both declined. Still, only 14 players have made more three-pointers this season, which means Hield puts constant pressure on opposing defenses.

After being traded at the deadline in both 2017 and 2022, Hield isn’t stressed about the possibility of it happening again.

“It’s the business of basketball,” he said. “One thing is I always thank God I have a jersey on me. You always appreciate that somebody wants you out there. If it happens, some team is going to get a Buddy who is ready to play and is excited for new opportunities. Right now I’m happy at Indiana and just taking it day-by-day and we’ll see what happens.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Shake Milton appears to be a buyout candidate for the Pistons once today’s trade with Minnesota is finalized, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger speculates that Milton could wind up with the Bucks, considering how well he played for coach Doc Rivers during their time together in Philadelphia. Hollinger believes Detroit is more likely to hang onto small forward Troy Brown, who fills a position of need and has a non-guaranteed salary of $4MM for next season.
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago looks at how Coby White has become a foundational piece for the Bulls after being made available at the last few trade deadlines. The three-year, $36MM contract White signed last summer looks like a major bargain, Johnson adds.
Finding someone willing to part with a second-round pick in exchange for Andre Drummond could be the Bulls‘ only move before the deadline, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. A source tells Cowley that teams continue to call about Alex Caruso, but he’s unlikely to be moved unless the front office receives an offer that “completely blew them away.”

Trade Rumors: Sixers, Wizards, Wiggins, Nuggets, Suns

February 7th, 2024 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Within a discussion about the trade deadline in the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst of ESPN identified the Bucks as one of the most active teams on the trade market, suggested the Nets have explored both buying and selling, and said that he expects the Sixers to make at least one trade by Thursday’s deadline. Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Furkan Korkmaz, and Danuel House are among Philadelphia’s most likely trade candidates, per Windhorst.

During that same Hoop Collective conversation, Windhorst stated he expects the Wizards to make at least one deadline deal, though he’s skeptical it will involve Kyle Kuzma, identifying Tyus Jones as the player more likely to be on the move. Windhorst added that Washington has also had talks involving Deni Avdija, though he’d be surprised if the fourth-year wing is dealt.

Here are a few more trade rumors from across the NBA:

In addition to joining the list of teams with interest in Bulls center Andre Drummond, the Sixers continue to scour the trade market for outside shooting, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article. Buddy Hield is one potential target, as Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday, and Bojan Bogdanovic is another clear fit, Stein writes. According to Stein, however, the Pistons are seeking at least a first-round pick in exchange for Bogdanovic and have let teams know that their preference is to keep him.
After reporting on Tuesday that Dallas’ interest in Andrew Wiggins may be overstated, Stein says he has heard the same about the Bucks‘ reported interest in the Warriors‘ forward. Still, Golden State is expected to continue exploring trade possibilities for Wiggins up until Thursday’s deadline, Stein writes.
Appearing on 92.5 FM in Denver on Wednesday, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said he doesn’t expect the team to make a move at the deadline, per Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports (Twitter link).
Phoenix doesn’t intend to give up any of its few remaining trade assets for a mere insurance policy, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, who tweets that if the Suns are going to acquire a player, they would need to view that player as someone who would be part of their eight- or nine-man playoff rotation.

Central Notes: Drummond, Bulls, Bucks, Connaughton, Pacers

February 7th, 2024 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

Andre Drummond, who has been identified recently as the Bulls player most likely to be traded at the deadline, gave the team something to think about on Tuesday in what could end up being his last game in a Chicago uniform.

As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, Drummond started alongside fellow center Nikola Vucevic for the first time this season, with the Bulls looking to counter the size of the Timberwolves’ frontcourt duo of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. He ultimately played 35 minutes and racked up 16 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks in an impressive overtime win over Minnesota.

One of the NBA’s most reliable backup centers, Drummond has now shared the court with Vucevic for 54 minutes this season and the Bulls have posted a +14.3 net rating during that time, including outscoring the Wolves in their 25 minutes together on Tuesday.

Still, league sources tell Johnson that the Bulls have engaged in trade talks with multiple teams about the two-time All-Star, who says he’s not stressing Thursday’s deadline.

“I control what I can control,” Drummond said. “I’ve been doing this for 12 years. There’s nothing I can do about it. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, great. Either way, I’m going to continue to come in and do my job on a daily basis.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Head coach Billy Donovan suggested on Tuesday that while Zach LaVine‘s season-ending foot surgery might affect the Bulls‘ approach to the trade deadline, it shouldn’t significantly alter the club’s plans, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I did not get from (Bulls executives) Arturas (Karnisovas) or Marc (Eversley): ‘Hey, we were kind of going down this path, and now we’ve kind of had to course-correct and go here.’ That has not happened at all,” Donovan said. “I’m sure they have to look at that, right? Because the hope was that when (LaVine) did go out that second time with his foot that he would return, and that was the anticipation of everybody. I’m sure those guys are looking at all the scenarios.”
Eric Nehm of The Athletic provides an in-depth preview of the trade deadline from the Bucks‘ perspective, writing that the team’s top priority should be acquiring a point-of-attack defender. Nehm lays out a few hypothetical deals that could address that issue, with his proposed targets ranging from high-end (Dejounte Murray) to more modest (Kris Dunn).
A frequent subject of trade rumors as of late, Pat Connaughton was the Bucks‘ unlikely starter at point guard on Tuesday with Damian Lillard (left ankle sprain) unavailable, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m trying to build Pat’s confidence back,” new head coach Doc Rivers explained. “I don’t know if he’s lost it or not, but I just think he can help us and I’m trying to actually give him more minutes. In a normal thing I would probably play one of the other guys but I’m trying to get Pat going. I think he’s important for us later as well.”
The Pacers already completed a major in-season deal when they traded for Pascal Siakam last month, but they’re in position to make another move or two if they want to, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, who examines Indiana’s options and points out that the club could still benefit from a consolidation trade even after parting with multiple players for Siakam.

Injury Notes: VanVleet, Brunson, Middleton, Robinson, GPII

February 7th, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet, who missed Tuesday’s loss in Indiana due to a left adductor strain, will be sidelined for at least three more games, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). That means VanVleet will be out for Friday’s return to Toronto in addition to games vs. Atlanta on Saturday and New York next Monday.

“Probably around All-Star break,” head coach Ime Udoka said when asked when VanVleet might return. “We’ll see. Who knows if that’ll take into All-Star break or right before the break?”

As Feigen writes, the Rockets’ final game before the All-Star break is next Wednesday in Memphis, then the team isn’t in action until the following Thursday (February 22) in New Orleans. Pushing VanVleet’s return until after the break would give him an extra eight days to recover, but if he’s able to play on Feb. 14, he’d also get those eight days of rest following his first game back.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the league:

One current Eastern Conference All-Star and one three-time East All-Star exited their respective games early on Tuesday due to ankle injuries. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson turned his right ankle in the fourth quarter vs. Memphis, but appears to have avoided a severe sprain, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link). Meanwhile, Bucks forward Khris Middleton left the Footprint Center in Phoenix wearing a walking boot and using crutches after spraining his left ankle in the first quarter, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Head coach Doc Rivers said X-rays on Middleton’s ankle were negative.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who has been out since mid-December after undergoing ankle surgery, will begin on-court shooting shortly after the All-Star break, head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Tuesday, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. There’s still hope that Robinson will be able to return before the end of the season.
The Warriors announced on Tuesday in a press release that Gary Payton II is making good progress from the left hamstring strain that has sidelined him since January 2 and is now considered day-to-day. However, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), Payton is unlikely to return during the team’s current road trip, which concludes with a back-to-back set in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Indiana on Thursday. Andrew Wiggins (left ankle contusion), on the other hand, is probable to play on Wednesday after missing Monday’s contest, says Slater.