Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Lillard, A. Jackson, Smith, Merrill, Jerome

December 20th, 2023 at 6:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Bucks guard Damian Lillard became the 51st player in NBA history to surpass 20,000 career points in Tuesday’s victory over San Antonio, writes Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. Lillard scored a season-high 40 points, shooting 14-of-22 from the floor, 7-of-12 from long distance, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

“I don’t want to fake downplay it like it’s nothing,” Lillard said. “I know it’s a big deal. It’s a great accomplishment. It’s a rare space to be in.”

According to Megargee, Lillard is the eighth active player to reach the milestone, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Chris Paul. Lillard, James, Harden and Curry are the only players in league history to record at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists and 2,000 three-pointers, Megargee adds.

Here’s more from the Central:

Rookie Bucks wing Andre Jackson Jr. recently started two games in place of Malik Beasley, who was out with an illness. Beasley reclaimed his starting job on Tuesday, but Jackson will continue to receive rotation minutes, head coach Adrian Griffin told reporters, including Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). “He did a tremendous job the past couple games. … We’re all extremely pleased with his progress so far,” Griffin said as part of a larger quote. Jackson, 22, was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
After missing the past nine games with a left knee bone bruise, Pacers big man Jalen Smith will be active for Wednesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Smith had been one of the more productive reserves in the league on a per-minute basis prior to the injury, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds on .707/.667/.741 shooting through 14 games (15.4 MPG).
Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill hasn’t played much this season, averaging just 8.4 MPG in his 13 appearances prior to Monday’s game. But he was instrumental in the Cavs’ overtime victory over Houston on Monday night, scoring a career-high 19 points while also chipping in four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 24 minutes, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Merrill, whose contract is non-guaranteed, converted 5-of-10 from behind the arc in an expanded role with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley out for the next several weeks.
In a subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, a source tells Fedor that Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome‘s recovery from a high ankle sprain has reached a “plateau,” and his progress (or lack thereof) has “confounded” the team’s medical staff. Jerome, who signed a two-year deal with the Cavs as a free agent over the summer, remains in a walking boot and is out indefinitely, Fedor writes.

Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo Named Players Of The Week

December 18th, 2023 at 2:39pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

It was the first time that each of the star players have earned the weekly award in the 2023/24 season. Doncic has now been named Western Conference player of the week 10 times, while Antetokounmpo has won for the East 22 times, per their respective teams.

Doncic has been carrying an extremely heavy workload of late amid injuries to multiple teammates, including Kyrie Irving (heel contusion). The Slovenian star led Dallas to a 3-1 week, averaging 36.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 11.5 assists and 1.5 steals on .490/.359/.969 shooting in his four appearances (41.0 minutes). The Mavs are currently 16-9, the No. 3 seed in the West.

Greek star Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, averaged 36.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 63.9% from the field in leading Milwaukee to a 4-0 week. The Bucks are currently 19-7, the No. 2 seed in the East.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Keegan Murray, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zion Williamson were the other Western nominees, while Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Donovan Mitchell were nominated in the East.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Talks About Passing Legend On Franchise Rebounding List

December 18th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

After passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Bucks‘ career leader in rebounding Sunday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about what it means to eclipse an NBA legend, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “That a kid from Greece, a skinny kid from Greece that was drafted, supposed to play in the G League, be in a position to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record, I don’t think anybody thought about that,” Antetokounmpo said.
MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson are both contributing to a Bucks team that needs production from its young wings, Nehm adds in a full story.

Central Notes: Cavs, Mitchell, DeRozan, Pacers, Johnson, Bucks

December 15th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Cavaliers‘ 51-win 2022/23 season came to a disappointing end with an unceremonious exit in the first round of the playoffs, that momentum appears to have carried over to this fall, with the team off to a 13-12 start. However, speaking to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, star guard Donovan Mitchell rejects the idea that the postseason letdown in the spring left a lasting mark on the team.

“I think we came back motivated,” he said. “We’ve got guys who came back ready to go. I think it motivated us, but, you know, it’s not showing it. That’s the tough part. But I’m not deflated. We’ve got to figure this thing out. That’s it. That’s all you can really do. Find ways. That’s it. It’s tough obviously, you know, winning a few, losing a few, but we’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep going.”

Mitchell also said that he believes the Cavaliers have the pieces to be a contender and that it’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same page. But Mitchell’s conversation with Bulpett occurred on Thursday, and the challenge facing the team got a lot tougher on Friday, when word broke that both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley will be sidelined until well into the new year due to injuries.

Earlier today, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that the Cavaliers had shown no inclination to make Mitchell available via trade despite the “mounting interest” of rival teams. It’s unlikely that stance has changed in the past few hours, in spite of the Garland and Mobley news, but it’ll certainly be worth keeping a close eye on how the situation in Cleveland plays out in the coming weeks to see how the club responds.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan is “deeply valued internally,” according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, who says the organization appreciates the veteran not just for his skills on the court but for his leadership off of it. The team has similar feelings about Alex Caruso, Johnson adds.
A recent report indicated that the Bulls and DeRozan are far apart in extension talks and suggested that the forward is a trade candidate in the final year of his contract. For what it’s worth though, DeRozan has expressed a desire to stay where he is. “Chicago is Chicago to me,” he told Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I love it here. Obviously it’s a place I want to be in my career. None of that has changed. I don’t have no other type of doubts or feelings or suggestions to be elsewhere. That don’t cross my mind.”
Following a run to the play-in tournament final, Tyrese Haliburton spoke about his hope that seeing how the Pacers play will make impact players want to join him in Indiana. With that in mind, Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star considers what sort of moves the Pacers could make by February’s deadline and what their best trade assets might be.
James Johnson‘s new one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Pacers is non-guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Johnson will receive his full salary ($2,241,188) if he remains under contract beyond January 7.
The chippy, hard-fought nature of Wednesday’s victory over the division-rival Pacers, which culminated in an argument over the game ball, may have helped the Bucks build a stronger bond, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes. “When stuff happens, whether it’s extremely serious or it’s small, any time you can get into something and you can look over and see people got your back and they’re with you, it changes things,” Damian Lillard said. “… I think (Wednesday), for our team, it was just a step in that direction where we kind of — we were with each other, so I’m not saying that’s going to make us the world’s greatest, but it was a step in the right direction.”

Bucks, Pacers Have Postgame “Fracas” Over Game Ball

December 14th, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

A shootout between the Bucks and Pacers in Milwaukee on Wednesday night featured several milestones: Giannis Antetokounmpo set a new franchise record with 64 points, Damian Lillard surpassed Kyle Korver for the fifth-most total three-pointers in NBA history, and Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe scored his first career point.

After the final buzzer sounded, fans in Milwaukee were treated to another unique moment: a frantic bid to track down and claim the game ball (Twitter video link).

As Eric Nehm of The Athletic and Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star detail, although there was video showing a Bucks staffer grabbing the game ball at the end of the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo was certain that the Pacers had taken it with them to their locker room. Following a brief on-court argument, Giannis and a few of his Bucks teammates ran down the tunnel toward Indiana’s locker room in search of the ball.

“It was Oscar Tshiebwe’s first official NBA point,” Carlisle later told reporters. “We always get the game ball. We were not thinking about Giannis’ franchise record. So we grabbed the ball and a couple of minutes later some of their players ended up in our hallway. There was a big, I don’t know what to call it, a fracas, a melee, whatever. I don’t think any punches were landed, but my general manager (Chad Buchanan) got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players. He certainly has a bruised rib and who knows if it’s anything more than that.

“Unfortunate situation. We don’t need the official game ball. There’s two game balls there. We could have taken the other one. It didn’t need to escalate to that. Really just unfortunate.”

After subsequently watching the video that shows a member of the Bucks’ security team taking the game ball from the referee, Carlisle added: “Turns out that their security guy had grabbed the real game ball used in the game initially. They already had it.”

As Carlisle notes, the Pacers did end up with one ball to commemorate Tshiebwe’s night, but they believe they have a reserve ball, rather than the game ball itself. As for Giannis, while he also ended up with a basketball once things calmed down, he’s not convinced it was the one used in the game.

“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball. It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me. It feels like a brand new ball,” Antetokounmpo said. “I can tell, I played, what, 35 minutes today? I know how the game ball felt. The ball that I have, which I will take and I’ll give it to my mom, for sure, but I don’t know if it’s actually the game ball.”

Giannis also said that his original goal was to get the game ball for Lillard rather than for himself.

“Dame is fifth of all-time,” he said. “I scored 60. At the end of the day, the ball they gave us, I offered it to Dame. I scored 60, he’s scored multiple times 60, he’s scored 70. He should have the ball. At the end of the day, I don’t think it’s fair. I understand when you score your first point in the NBA, you want to have the ball or whatever the case may be. But the end of the day, you’re talking about the guy who just jumped over Kyle Korver on the list. I feel like we should all stop what we’re doing and appreciate greatness.”

It’s hard to believe that this incident, which was essentially a misunderstanding over a piece of memorabilia, will become a source of genuine bad blood between the two teams. But the Bucks weren’t happy about their loss to the Pacers in the in-season tournament semifinal, and things got a little chippy in the fourth quarter on Wednesday following a hard foul by Aaron Nesmith on Antetokounmpo (video link).

It’s also worth noting that Antetokounmpo – who broke the team’s single-game scoring mark with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter – remained in the game until the final buzzer, despite the Bucks’ double-digit lead. He sealed the 140-126 victory with a dunk with 26 seconds remaining. Carlisle was asked after the game if he was surprised the Bucks star didn’t check out earlier.

“No point commenting on it,” Carlisle said. “I think it’s pretty obvious what the answer is.”

At the very least, the division rivalry between the Bucks and Pacers is getting more interesting than it has been in years. The two teams will face one another again on January 1 in Milwaukee and Jan. 3 in Indiana.

Warriors, Knicks, Lakers Top Latest NBA Franchise Valuations

December 13th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico (subscription required), who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2023 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $8.28 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $7 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $7.43 billion, while the Lakers come in at $7.34 billion, per Sportico.

As Badenhausen details, Sportico spoke to more than 30 team executives, owners, investors, bankers, consultants, and lawyers in compiling their latest NBA franchise valuations. According to Sportico, the average value of an NBA team is up 33% from a year ago and 70% from when the site first started publishing valuations three years ago.

A combination of factors are contributing to the soaring value of NBA franchises, says Baudenhausen. Those factors include national media deals, international opportunities, scarcity (ie. only 30 teams are available), and an equal 1/30th stake in the league.

In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we’re highlighting Sportico’s projections in 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But thse projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2023:

Golden State Warriors: $8.28 billion
New York Knicks: $7.43 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $7.34 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.12 billion
Chicago Bulls: $4.83 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $4.56 billion
Miami Heat: $4.17 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.13 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.11 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.05 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.03 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $3.98 billion
Sacramento Kings: $3.46 billion
Denver Nuggets: $3.4 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $3.35 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.33 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.29 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.28 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.27 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.24 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.22 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.2 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.12 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.1 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.08 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $2.94 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $2.82 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $2.72 billion

For the most part, the most significant valuation increases (by percentage) within the last year belonged to the teams on the bottom half of this list. Besides the Bucks, whose projection rose by 32%, every franchise in the bottom 10 received at least a 50% bump from Sportico’s 2022 valuations.

The Nuggets, who cracked the top half of this list following their 2023 championship, were another big riser — their valuation increased by 60% and they moved up six spots.

It’s worth noting that the Mavericks‘ reported valuation in Mark Cuban‘s sale to the Adelson and Dumont families reportedly came in around $3.5 billion, well below Sportico’s valuation.

However, more recent reporting has suggested the final valuation will be closer to $4 billion when the transaction closes. That was also a unique situation since Cuban is retaining control of basketball operations as part of the sale agreement, despite surrendering majority control of the business. He’ll hang onto about 25% of the franchise, according to Sportico.

NBA Announces All-Tournament Team

December 11th, 2023 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The All-Tournament Team of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament features Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Kevin Durant (Suns), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), LeBron James and Anthony Davis (both of the Lakers), the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the All-Tournament Team was selected by the media based on performance in both group play and the knockout rounds, with players chosen without regard to position. The full list of players receiving votes and the voters themselves can be found right here.

Antetokounmpo, Haliburton, James and Davis were all unanimous selections, which isn’t surprising considering their excellent play and how far they advanced in the tournament. The Lakers beat the Pacers in the final, with James claiming tournament MVP, Davis finishing second, and Haliburton third.

The Bucks fell in the semifinals to the Pacers, but Antetokounmpo put up his typical stellar numbers throughout the tournament, including averaging 36.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block while shooting 68.3% from the field in his two knockout appearances (37.2 minutes).

The final spot went to Durant, whose Suns narrowly lost in the quarterfinals to L.A. He received seven votes, with Brandon Ingram (four), Nikola Jokic (three), De’Aaron Fox (two), Damian Lillard (two), Jayson Tatum (one) and Myles Turner (one) also receiving consideration from the media panel.

Portis Challenged Team, Coaches After Tourney Loss

December 10th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following the Bucks’ loss to Indiana in the in-season tournament semifinals, forward Bobby Portis passionately challenged head coach Adrian Griffin and teammates to get better, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Portis spoke about the need to improve their rebounding and also stressed to Griffin the importance of structuring the offense down the stretch of games.

Asked about it on Sunday, Portis didn’t deny he spoke up in the Bucks’ locker room, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. “Don’t know how it got reported; but at the same time, I’m just a competitor. I love to compete. I think I’m a leader. I lead by voice and I lead by example as well. … The guys know who I am. They know I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

Griffin is optimistic Pat Connaughton can return this week, indicating on Sunday that he’s hopeful the Bucks wing will suit up in the next “four, five, six, seven days,” Nehm tweets. Connaughton, who is nursing an ankle injury, hasn’t played since Nov. 28.

Pacers, Lakers Advance To Tournament Final

December 7th, 2023 at 11:06pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers and Lakers advanced to the final of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament on Thursday by defeating the Bucks and Pelicans in their respective semifinal matchups.

The championship game between the two undefeated teams (both are 6-0 in the tournament) will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday at 7:30 pm CT. The final will be the lone game of the in-season tournament that does not count towards the regular season schedule.

Indiana’s win over Milwaukee was a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final minutes, with guard Tyrese Haliburton delivering another stellar performance (27 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds, zero turnovers), including clutch baskets to seal the victory. Center Myles Turner also had a strong outing, recording 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

However, the other semifinal wasn’t competitive, as Los Angeles demolished New Orleans behind a brilliant showing from LeBron James, who finished with 30 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), eight assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers in just 23 minutes. The Lakers wound up winning by 44 points.

Pelicans head coach Willie Green was understandably disappointed in his team’s effort, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic.

“Tonight was a total letdown… A lack of competitive spirit,” Green said. “Tonight, we took a step in the wrong direction.”

Players on standard contracts with the Pacers and Lakers have now secured bonuses worth at least $200K (two-way players will earn half that amount). The champs will earn $500K apiece.

The Bucks and Pelicans, meanwhile, earned bonuses of $100K per player for reaching the semifinals, but have been eliminated from contention for the first NBA Cup.

And-Ones: D. Harper, Harden, Iguodala, NBPA, Pacers/Bucks

December 7th, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Dylan Harper, a five-star recruit who comes in at No. 2 overall in ESPN’s breakdown of the 2024 high school class, announced on Wednesday that he has committed to Rutgers for the 2024/25 college season, per Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN.

The son of five-time champion Ron Harper and the younger brother of Raptors two-way player Ron Harper Jr., Dylan is behind only Cooper Flagg in ESPN’s rankings of next year’s recruiting class. Flagg has committed to Duke, but Harper – like No. 3 prospect Airious “Ace” Bailey – will join the Scarlet Knights, whom his older brother represented from 2018-22.

“His advice to me was to pick a school that is best for me and make it your decision,” Dylan said of Ron Jr. “I saw what a great player my brother was there and how successful Rutgers was during that time. He had a great career there. He was one of the best to play at Rutgers.”

It’s a historic recruiting class for Rutgers, which typically hasn’t been a basketball powerhouse. As Borzello and Biancardi point out, prior to this year, Rutgers had landed just six total prospects on ESPN’s top-100 lists since 2007, which is when the outlet began maintaining its annual recruiting rankings. Only one of those players – Mike Rosario in 2008 – was considered a top-50 recruit.

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

The NBA investigated the Sixers following 2022’s free agent period, looking into whether James Harden‘s pay cut that year came with any quid pro quo assurances, and investigated the team again earlier this year after the star guard called Daryl Morey a “liar.” Will yet another Harden-related investigation be necessary? Over at his Substack, Marc Stein says the comments Harden made to Sam Amick of The Athletic may force the league’s hand. The former MVP made two eyebrow-raising claims in that interview, telling Amick that the 76ers promised him a maximum-salary contract prior to his 2023 free agency and that his representatives met with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka while he was under contract with Philadelphia.
Andre Iguodala, who took over for Tamika Tremaglio last month as the NBPA’s acting executive director, is unsure whether or not he’s interested in keeping the position permanently, but he tells Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that he couldn’t pass on the opportunity to lead the players’ union. “The players thought it was perfect timing, with my career ending, helping them continue to progress, continue to transition and helping out with that,” Iguodala said. “So, it was just a unique opportunity to do that. I’m indebted to the players and servicing the guys, and it was a no-brainer.”
The over-under for Thursday’s in-season tournament Eastern semifinal is 257.5 points, the highest total in an NBA game since 1991, according to David Purdum of ESPN. As we detailed earlier today, the Pacers have the NBA’s best offense and the Bucks rank third, so a shootout is anticipated. It’s the seventh game since ’91 with an over/under greater than 250, with four of those games occurring this season, Purdum notes.