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Central Notes: Beasley, Giannis, Rubio, Pistons

January 6th, 2024 at 11:45am CST by Tristan Tucker

Appearing on a B/R Live stream with TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Bucks guard Malik Beasley said he bypassed offers worth more money from the Lakers and Mavericks to sign with Milwaukee.

Beasley opened up about his experience in free agency, saying it was “tough” because he closed out the year on a rough note, averaging just 3.0 points per game in the playoffs with Los Angeles after averaging 11.1 PPG during the regular season. The 27-year-old guard said the Lakers wanted to re-sign him on a deal worth about $6MM but explained there were some unknowns regarding his role with Austin Reaves re-signing early in free agency.

Beasley also said he had an offer from the Mavericks worth between $3-6MM, but was again unsure of what his role would be, given that Dallas had a roster filled with guards and shooters.

The seventh-year guard ended up signing with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum contract for a chance to have a bigger role.

“[Bucks general manager] Jon [Horst] is such a great person,” Beasley said. “We talk a lot and he was like ‘You have an opportunity to start here, you have a chance to win a championship.’ And I think for me, most importantly, [the Bucks have] some veterans around [the] team. Most of the teams I have been on, aside from LeBron and AD, they’ve been young.”

Beasley earned a prominent role with Milwaukee right away, starting all 33 of his appearances this year. He’s averaging 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per night while shooting a career highs of 48.8% from the field and 46.9% on three-pointers (on 6.3 attempts per game). He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

We have more notes from the Central Division:

Opening up about his time with the Lakers, Beasley blames himself for how his tenure in L.A. ended (Twitter link via Haynes). “It was more of the past things that happened in my life that caused me to not play at my best,” the Bucks wing said.
Out of the Bucks‘ 10 losses this season, four have come at the hands of the Pacers. Giannis Antetokounmpo is bothered by those losses, writes The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Now, when you go back home and you sleep and you wake up, you think about it,” Antetokounmpo said. “Now, when you go back and work out, you think about it. In the All-Star break, when you’re gonna be on an exotic beach with your family, I hope you think about it, you know? … But at the end of the day, it’s good because it gives us time to fix things.“
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell had a feeling former teammate Ricky Rubio was going to retire, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor writes. “I feel like he could breathe,” Mitchell said while paying tribute to Rubio. “I’m not speaking for him. But I feel like it’s just one of those things where it’s kind of like that indecision of what you want to do can be a lot. I’m just happy that he finally has time to feel like he can breathe and go pick up his son from school and be with his family in Spain. He’s been playing this game professionally at the highest of levels and had this expectation of himself since he was a teenager.“
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff also paid tribute to Rubio, as detailed in a story from ESPN. “I owe Ricky a debt of gratitude that there’s only a couple of guys who I could say at this point have had the impact on me that way,” Bickerstaff said. “He helped us, in a brief period of time, turn this organization into what you see in front of you. His presence allowed me to coach the team in a certain way where no one was too big to sacrifice.“
The Pistons are widely expected to make a trade of some sort after setting the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season, and The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III thinks Detroit will add some veterans around the margins. In his mailbag, Edwards confirms there’s great interest league-wide in Pistons vet Bojan Bogdanovic but says he doesn’t expect Detroit to trade him just to trade him. The Pistons are in a difficult position, Edwards writes, because the young players who would bring in a difference-making haul are guys the team should build around.

Bucks Host Veteran Workout; Middleton Plays Both Ends Of Back-To-Back

January 5th, 2024 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks hosted a veteran free agent workout on Monday, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who says the group seemed to consist of candidates for two-way deals. Lindell Wigginton, TyTy Washington, and Marques Bolden are Milwaukee’s current two-way players; they’ve combined to play just 17 total minutes this season.
Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who underwent offseason knee surgery, played in both games of a back-to-back set on Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since April 2022, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes (Twitter links). Head coach Adrian Griffin continues to take a conservative approach to Middleton’s workload though, not bringing him back in the second half of Thursday’s win after he was effective in 15 first half minutes. “We just wanted to play him, see how he responded and I think he’s in a good place and we want to keep him in a good place and then we’ll just see how he’s feeling in the morning,” Griffin said, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Antetokounmpo Named Players Of Month

January 4th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for December, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Gilgeous-Alexander led his team to a 10-3 record during the month while averaging 31.9 points, 6.6 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Antetokounmpo carried the Bucks to an 11-2 mark in December, posting averages of 32.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per night.

Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Kawhi Leonard were the other nominees in the West.

Bam Adebayo, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle, Coby White and Derrick White were the other nominees in the East.

Giannis, Lillard Challenging Defenses; Pacers, Bucks Set For First Meeting Since Game Ball Incident

December 31st, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin credits the chemistry between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for helping the team overcome a 15-point deficit Friday night at Cleveland, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. A little more than two months into their partnership, the two All-Stars have figured out the best way to attack opposing defenses. “You could see Giannis started to trust Dame and they go into the two-man game and it’s hard to stop,” Griffin said. “They went into our pitch action and that was beautiful and we need more of that from those two guys. And I had nothing to do with that. They took it upon themselves. There’s times where I’m trying to manufacture that type of action, where I can call a play or whatnot, but in the flow of the game, for them to just take the initiative amongst themselves, I mean, that shows our growth.”
The Bucks will host the Pacers on Monday in their first meeting since the game ball incident on December 13, Nehm tweets. Bobby Portis gave a lighthearted answer when asked if he expects any bitterness to carry over. “Nah, man. It’s a new year. It’s 2024,” Portis said before laughing.

And-Ones: Kohl, Holland, Sellers, G League, Goodwin

December 29th, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Bucks owner and Wisconsin senator Herb Kohl passed away this week at age 88, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who takes a look back at Kohl’s legacy in Milwaukee. Part of that legacy, Nehm notes, involves selling the Bucks to Marc Lasry and Wes Edens and ensuring that they would keep the franchise in Milwaukee.

“His goal was to make sure that if we bought the team, that the team stayed in Milwaukee. That was the requisite for us owning the team,” Lasry told Nehm. “He cared deeply about the city, about the people and he cared deeply about the Bucks.”

In order to keep the Bucks in town, the team needed to build a new arena to replace the aging Bradley Center. While Lasry and Edens received some public funding and paid a portion of the arena cost themselves after spending $550MM on the franchise, an extra $100MM from Kohl helped push the project over the finish line.

“In an extraordinary gesture, he basically gave to us, towards the building of the arena, a $100 million gift,” Edens said. “And I think it’s one of the most extraordinary acts, philanthropically sports-related that I’m aware of, maybe the most. He gave us $100 million. … And I think that his $100 million was really the pivotal amount at the time. And had that not happened, then it was very likely the Bucks would be in Las Vegas or Seattle or wherever else they might be. So it’s extraordinary.”

“It was very important to him for us to keep the team in Milwaukee,” Lasry added. “He ended up giving us $100 million to build a new arena. And we had said to him, ‘Is there anything you want? Should we name it the Kohl Center? Is there anything you want us to do?’ And he was like, ‘No, no, this is for the community. This isn’t about me. This is about what’s good for Milwaukee.'”

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

In a conversation with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, G League Ignite prospect Ron Holland compared himself to NBA players Mikal Bridges and Jaylen Brown and explains why he believe he’s the top player in the 2024 draft class. Holland was atop ESPN’s 2024 draft rankings earlier this year, but has since slipped to No. 6.
John Hollinger of The Athletic considers which teams will emerge as buyers and sellers in the coming weeks, noting that it would create some clarity if one team from the trio of the Bulls, Hawks, and Raptors begins pulling away with the No. 10 seed in the East, forcing the other two to become sellers.
Within the same Athletic story, Hollinger observes that the annual G League Showcase in December used to provide teams with an opportunity to scout potential call-up candidates, but with so many of those players now on two-way contracts, the NBAGL talent pool isn’t as deep as it once was. Teams these days are more inclined to use the Showcase to get a closer look at players who are already on NBA contracts in order to gain more information for future transactions, per Hollinger. Still, Brandon Goodwin, the MVP of the event, is one notable free agent who boosted his stock at the Showcase and looks like a candidate for a 10-day deal next month, Hollinger adds.

Central Notes: Ball, Green, Pacers Lineup, Sasser

December 28th, 2023 at 9:35pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said guard Lonzo Ball was in town last week and he’s optimistic that his latest procedure to alleviate his pain worked, tweets NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Ball is still ruled out for the rest of the season but, according to Johnson, he’s progressing well and is expected to resume running by January.

“Everything they’ve done in terms of progressing him, he’s handled very well,” Donovan said, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “The pain he was experiencing that was causing the setback is eliminated in terms of what he’s doing now, but he hasn’t run.”

Ball hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 14, 2022 as he’s dealt with continuous injuries and setbacks. With his pain alleviated and physical activity soon to resume, his eventual return to the court looks more likely with this latest development.

In 35 games with the Bulls, Ball has averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He was acquired by Chicago in the summer of 2021 in a sign-and-trade with the Pelicans. He has a player option next year for roughly $21.4MM and Cowley mentions it’s possible he returns to play sometime in the offseason or training camp, but that’s more speculation than anything.

We have more from the Central Division:

It took some time for Bucks sharpshooter A.J. Green to find his footing in the NBA, but he finished the 2022/23 season strong and earned a guaranteed contract ahead of this year, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski writes. While Green hasn’t yet earned a permanent keep in the rotation, the Bucks can count on him to come in and hit threes when needed. “Freakin’ A.J.,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like whenever he shoots the ball, the ball is going in.” Green is under contract for two seasons after this one, though both are non-guaranteed.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made significant changes to the team’s starting lineup in their Tuesday game against the Bulls, moving Buddy Hield and Obi Toppin to the bench for Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith, respectively, IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak observes. Andrew Nembhard also started in place of the injured Bruce Brown. The Pacers, who had previously lost six of their last seven, defeated the Rockets 123-117 with their new lineup.
After finishing his collegiate career tied fifth for wins in Houston’s program history, Marcus Sasser is having to adjust as the Pistons suffer through a 28-game losing streak, tied for the longest in NBA history, Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle writes. However, Sasser has been able to turn to his former college coach Kelvin Sampson for advice this year, according to Duarte. “I worry about him in his first year,” Sampson said. “But at the same time, you get paid for this, man. Suck it up, you’ll be all right.“

Trevor Gleeson Joins Bucks’ Coaching Staff

December 27th, 2023 at 5:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have filled an opening on their coaching staff by hiring Trevor Gleeson as an assistant, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Head coach Adrian Griffin made the announcement prior to tonight’s game at Brooklyn.

Griffin and Gleeson worked together for the past two years on Toronto’s staff before head coach Nick Nurse was fired at the end of last season.

Before coming to the NBA, the 55-year-old Gleeson built a reputation as one of the top coaches in Australia’s National Basketball League, where he led the Perth Wildcats to five championships. He was a two-time winner of NBL Coach of the Year honors.

Gleeson will be given time to adapt to his new surroundings, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“We’ve kind of had some talks already this year and even in Australia, he’s been watching our games and just kind of giving us and giving me feedback, but he’s someone that I trust,” Griffin told reporters. “He has a great mind for the game. But right now, I think we’ll just ease him in and let him get acclimated to our team, but he’s strong on both sides of the ball. He’ll definitely start doing some of the scouts as he gets more comfortable.”

There has been a vacancy on Milwaukee’s staff since former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts resigned in October, just days before the start of the regular season.

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Bucks, Brunson, D. Murray

December 25th, 2023 at 7:24pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks forward RJ Barrett broke out of a shooting slump in Monday’s home victory over Milwaukee, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Barrett, who had converted just 36.7% of his field goal attempts over the past six games leading into Monday, set the tone early with 14 points in the first quarter, ultimately finishing with 21 on 8-of-14 shooting in 28 minutes.

“I got into a good rhythm early in the game, helped us get a lead,” Barrett said. “After that, it was kind of trying to play the game and listen to what the game was telling me to do.”

Barrett, 23, is in the first season of a four-year, $107MM+ rookie scale extension.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

The Christmas Day win snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Bucks, with three of those losses coming in 2023/24, notes Braziller of The New York Post. The Knicks had just been defeated by Milwaukee on Saturday. “[It meant] a lot, just because obviously we struggled against this team throughout this year, so the fact that we came up with a win today, it’s special,” said Jalen Brunson, who scored a game-high 38 points. “I liked the way we had a lead and no matter how much they cut the lead down we stayed poised and figured out a way to keep it.”
Brunson’s performance today was a reminder of his “elite ability,” according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who takes a look at the connection between Brunson and Adrian Griffin. The Bucks head coach played with Brunson’s father Rick in the CBA and coached with the elder Brunson in Chicago. “He’s tough because he has all the nuances,” Griffin said of Jalen. “He knows how to draw fouls. He can shoot the 3 off the dribble. He has a pull-up off the bounce, and then he can finish at the rim. He’s a very high IQ player.”
According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, “some prominent members” of the Knicks view Hawks guard Dejounte Murray as an “ideal trade target.” However, there’s a significant hurdle to a deal coming together: Murray’s agent is Klutch Sports Group’s Rich Paul, who is “reluctant to do business” with New York. As Begley writes, Paul would help facilitate a move if Murray specifically asked to be traded to the Knicks, but otherwise prefers not to deal with them. That could change if the Knicks agree to an in-person meeting with Paul to work out their differences, Begley reports.

Stein’s Latest: Olynyk, LaVine, Tucker, Murray, McClung

December 25th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics view Jazz big man Kelly Olynyk as a possible trade target, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.

With a $12.2MM expiring contract, Olynyk is one of several Utah veterans who might be on the move prior to the trade deadline. Boston drafted him in 2013 and he spent his first four NBA seasons with the Celtics, so he’s familiar with the organization.

After being a starter last year, Olynyk has moved into a reserve role in his second season with the Jazz, although he has started seven games because of injures to teammates. He posted 27 points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals in Thursday’s win at Detroit.

Boston’s current salary structure makes an Olynyk trade challenging, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Without giving up one of their rotation players, the Celtics would have to have to send out several minimum contracts to match Olynyk’s salary.

Stein also expects the Knicks to have interest in Olynyk after starting center Mitchell Robinson underwent ankle surgery that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

Stein passes along more inside information on potential trades:

Citing conversations at the G League Winter Showcase, Stein remains skeptical that the Sixers have interest in trading for Bulls guard Zach LaVine. League sources tell Stein that Philadelphia wants to find someone who can contribute on both ends of the court, and the team is reluctant to give up its cap space for next summer to acquire LaVine, who still has three seasons left on his five-year, $215MM deal. The Lakers may be more inclined to consider LaVine after going 2-5 in their last seven games, but Stein notes that L.A. also prizes salary flexibility and tends to seek out players with shorter contracts to team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Bucks and Heat still have “a healthy level of admiration” for P.J. Tucker, league sources tell Stein, but his $11MM salary for this season and a guaranteed $11.5MM for 2024/25 will limit trade interest. Tucker, who was acquired from Philadelphia as part of the James Harden deal, hasn’t played for the Clippers in nearly a month.
Rival teams expect the Hawks to consider a Dejounte Murray trade before the deadline, Stein adds. Atlanta’s front office may explore deals involving several players as it tries to assemble a better mix of talent around Trae Young. Stein states that the Hawks would be hoping to replenish their draft assets after sending three future first-round picks and a pick swap to San Antonio in the trade to acquire Murray.
In an interview with Mac McClung, the 2023 Slam Dunk Contest champ says he’s still deciding whether he’ll return to the event to try to defend his title.

Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2023 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Merry Christmas from the Hoops Rumors staff!

As usual, the NBA has an impressive slate of five games on tap for Christmas Day, with many of the league’s top teams and biggest stars in action on December 25. Here’s today’s schedule:

11:00 am CT: Milwaukee Bucks (22-7) at New York Knicks (16-12)
1:30 pm CT: Golden State Warriors (15-14) at Denver Nuggets (21-10)
4:00 pm CT: Boston Celtics (22-6) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-14)
7:00 pm CT: Philadelphia 76ers (20-8) at Miami Heat (17-12)
9:30 pm CT: Dallas Mavericks (17-12) at Phoenix Suns (14-14)

Some of these teams have underachieved to some extent so far – the Warriors, Lakers, and Suns, in particular, aren’t where they want to be in the standings – and reigning MVP Joel Embiid won’t be available for the Sixers. But each matchup still has something going for it.

We’ve got Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard visiting Madison Square Garden; former MVPs Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic starring in a showdown between the two most recent NBA champions; Jayson Tatum and the Celtics facing LeBron James and the Lakers in a battle between the league’s two most storied franchises; Jimmy Butler and the defending Eastern Conference champions hosting Butler’s former team; and perennial MVP candidates Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant squaring off in Phoenix.

The NBA’s schedule makers did especially well on the Eastern Conference side of things — the East’s top three teams, and five of its top six squads, are all in action today, with the fourth-seeded Magic representing the only exception.

Over in the West, things are a little more hit and miss, given that the Lakers, Warriors, and Suns currently rank ninth, 10th, and 11th in the conference. The No. 2 Nuggets and the No. 6 Mavericks are the only two Western Conference teams in action today that currently hold a playoff spot.

While the NBA couldn’t have realistically expected that either team would be quite this good this season, it’s too bad the 22-6 Timberwolves, who are in a tie for the league’s best record, and the exciting young Thunder (18-9) aren’t part of today’s schedule.

We want to know what you think. Are there any teams you wish were (or weren’t) involved in today’s games? Which of these five contests are you most looking forward to? Which five teams are you picking to win this year’s Christmas Day matchups?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in, and feel free to use it as an open thread to discuss today’s games.