Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Zagars, Media Rights, October Deadlines, More

October 21st, 2023 at 8:11am CST by Tristan Tucker

Latvian guard Arturs Zagars is out for at least five months due to a knee injury, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews reports (Twitter link). As detailed in a piece from Eurohoops, Zagars suffered the injury on October 14 while playing in Lithuania’s top league.

Zagars received NBA interest through the summer following a standout FIBA World Cup performance for Latvia. The 23-year-old guard averaged 12.4 points, 7.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game and set a tournament record with 17 assists in his team’s final contest. He ultimately wound up signing a three-year deal with Turkey’s Fenerbahce in September and they loaned him to the BC Wolves of Lithuania, with whom he suffered the injury.

As confirmed by Eurohoops and Urbonas, Zagars suffered an MCL injury and will undergo surgery and continue rehab in Istanbul under Fenerbahce’s medical staff.

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

ESPN and TNT are considering signing new media rights deals with the NBA that include fewer games per season, according to The Wall Street Journal (hat tip to RealGM). Such an agreement would allow the league’s two main broadcasting partners to continue working together at an affordable amount. It would also put the NBA in position to explore creating a packge of games for one or more streaming services, with both Amazon and Apple already expressing interest.
The NBA’s extension and roster cut-down deadlines are looming, and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (ESPN+ link) broke down every rookie extension and veteran extension candidate, as well as all remaining roster decisions ahead of the season. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley are the major rookie extension candidates to watch, Marks notes, though Maxey likely won’t get a new deal. Many of the veterans facing an October 23 deadline for a contract extension, such as the Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo, are also unlikely to extend because they can earn more money by waiting until the offseason.
In another piece exploring the NBA’s October deadlines, Danny Leroux of The Athletic further breaks down the upcoming dates to note. Leroux points out the deadline for decisions on third- and fourth-year team options on rookie contracts is also approaching on October 31.
With the tip of the NBA season just days away (October 24), Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype provided a team-by-team look at which players are the most likely to earn consideration for the league’s end-of-season awards. Raptors forward Scottie Barnes gunning for Most Improved Player and Kings guard Malik Monk in the running for Sixth Man of the Year are among Gozlan’s most intriguing picks. Interestingly, Gozlan believes the Pelicans‘ best chance at earning end-of-season recognition is if Zion Williamson enters the MVP conversation.

Bucks Waive Glenn Robinson III, Two Others

October 21st, 2023 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have trimmed their preseason roster in advance of the regular season, waiving forward Glenn Robinson III, swingman Elijah Hughes, and guard Kihei Clark, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Robinson, who has appeared in over 300 NBA regular season games since making his debut in 2014, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Milwaukee on Thursday after being out of the league for the last two years. It appears the 29-year-old is on track to join the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G League affiliate, as he pursues an NBA comeback.

That also figures to be the plan for Hughes and Clark, who also signed non-guaranteed camp deals on Thursday. The Exhibit 10 language in their contracts entitles them to bonuses worth as much as $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Herd.

Following the cuts, the Bucks now have 18 players under contract — 15 on guaranteed contracts, a pair on two-way pacts, and big man Marques Bolden on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Milwaukee could set its regular season roster by converting Bolden to a two-way contract, though it’s not clear whether that will happen or whether additional moves could be in store before Monday’s regular season roster deadline.

Pacific Notes: Mann, Hyland, Gordon, Wainright

October 20th, 2023 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Thursday about the trade rumors surrounding Terance Mann, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue indicated that he doesn’t want to see the guard go anywhere and expressed confidence that he’ll stay put.

“We love T-Mann, and T-Mann is gonna be here,” Lue said (Twitter link via Joey Linn of SI.com). “So we’re not worried about what they’re saying outside, all the speculations. It’s a good thing to be wanted.”

Of course, the decision on Mann’s future won’t ultimately be made by Lue, but the Clippers have reportedly resisted including him in any offer for James Harden for months.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Bones Hyland‘s big night against his former team came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the Clippers guard sprained his left ankle in the third quarter vs. Denver. However, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times hears that there’s some “initial optimism” that the injury may not force Hyland – who had scored 25 points in 24 minutes – to miss any regular season games. He’ll be reevaluated in a few days, the Clippers announced today.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, veteran guard Eric Gordon named the Rockets, Warriors, and Bucks as some of the other options he had in free agency before he chose to sign with the Suns. “I felt Phoenix was onto something special,” Gordon said. “It was a tough decision, but I really think we have everything going on here from ownership, to coaches and to players. It’s hard to beat.”
The Suns are hoping that their release of Ish Wainright is “more of a logistical thing” rather than the end of their relationship with him, according to head coach Frank Vogel. As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic observes, Phoenix has a two-way slot open and Wainright would be eligible to sign a two-way deal with the club if he clears waivers.
Within their season preview for the Pacific Division, Jovan Buha, Law Murray, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic agree that the best move of the offseason by a Pacific team was the Suns‘ trade for Bradley Beal. The Athletic’s trio cites Phoenix’s trade of Deandre Ayton, the Warriors‘ acquisition of Chris Paul, and the Clippers‘ unwillingness to increase their trade offer for Harden as the moves with the biggest potential to backfire.

Middleton Ready To Return

October 19th, 2023 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Khris Middleton hasn’t played in the preseason but that appears likely to change on Friday. The Bucks swingman, who has been working his way back from right knee surgery, says he’s good to go for the preseason finale, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “As of right now, I definitely feel like I’ll be out there playing tomorrow,” Middleton said. “Don’t know how long, how many minutes, but I do expect to be playing, which is exciting for me.”

Central Notes: Stotts, Griffin, Cunningham, Bates, Allen, Nembhard

October 19th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Terry Stotts isn’t retiring, even though the 65-year-old coach is exiting Adrian Griffin’s staff with the Bucks, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Stotts wasn’t comfortable with his fit on Milwaukee’s staff. Griffin claimed they got along just fine.

“It caught all of us off guard, of course, but again, you just support him,” Griffin said. “He was a terrific guy. I learned a lot from him in a very short time. He was really good at what he does. He made a decision – a personal decision – and we just have to respect that.”

However, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and Shams Charania report that Stotts and Griffin had a tenuous relationship. That included a shootaround incident in which Griffin yelled for Stotts to join the coaches’ huddle when Stotts was about to have a conversation with the team’s star players. That highlighted the potential difficulty of Stotts adapting to an assistant role under rookie head coach Griffin. Conversely, it also spoke about the treatment and level of respect that Griffin needed to show Stotts, considering his lengthy coaching career.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pistons paid Monty Williams a lot of money to coach their team, and their star player, Cade Cunningham, has bought in to Williams’ hard-driving style, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. “I love the way he pushes us,” Cunningham said. “He calls things the way he sees them. I think that honesty and that bluntness towards us, that’s huge. Especially for a young team. The systems that he’s put in, the way that he’s made it around our abilities and the personnel we have has been great for us. It’ll continue to get better as he learns us and we learn him.”
Rookie second-round pick Emoni Bates has led the Cavaliers in scoring during the preseason. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that he’s thrilled Bates dropped to the No. 49 overall pick. “I believe if Emoni had gone in the lottery he’d have been the type of player who’d have been in the Rookie of the Year conversation,” Bickerstaff said. “We are extremely fortunate that he’s here with us and we look forward to working with him.”
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is showing progress from the right ankle injury that has sidelined him during much of training camp. On Thursday afternoon, he went through post-practice shooting drills and then went through an individual workout, according to Fedor. He is set for re-evaluation this weekend and there’s hope he can return for Cleveland’s regular-season opener on Wednesday night.
Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard went through a full practice this week and is on track to play in the team’s preseason finale on Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Nembhard is working his way back from an ankle injury.

Bucks Sign Elijah Hughes, Kihei Clark To Camp Deals

October 19th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks have added Elijah Hughes and Kihei Clark to their roster, with both players receiving training camp contracts, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. The signings are official, per RealGM’s transactions log.

A 6’5″ wing, Hughes was the No. 39 overall pick in 2020 after playing three seasons of college ball at East Carolina and Syracuse, respectively. He holds two years of NBA experience with the Jazz and Trail Blazers, averaging 2.9 points in 9.2 minutes (54 games) while struggling mightily with scoring efficiency (.328/.280/.769 slash line).

Hughes was out of the league in 2022/23, having signed a training camp deal with the Bucks to secure his G League rights for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate. He struggled with efficiency again during last fall’s Showcase Cup (.372/.284/.733 slash line in 14 games), but played better for the Herd in the regular season, averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals on .426/.355/.853 shooting in 25 games (18 starts, 33.1 minutes).

Clark, meanwhile, went undrafted in June after five college seasons at Virginia. The 5’9″ guard averaged 10.7 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .399/.352/.767 shooting in 33 games (33.2 minutes) as a “super senior” in ’22/23.

Assuming Hughes and Clark signed Exhibit 10 deals, which seems likely, they would each be eligible for a $75K bonus if they’re waived before the season starts and spend at least 60 days with the Herd. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, and the Bucks do have a two-way opening after waiving Omari Moore.

The Bucks’ roster is now full, with 21 players under contract.

Glenn Robinson III Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Bucks

October 19th, 2023 at 2:10pm CST by Rory Maher

2:10pm: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s official NBA transactions log.

12:10pm: The Bucks plan to sign veteran swingman Glenn Robinson III to an Exhibit 10 contract, a league source tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A former second-round pick (4oth overall in 2014), Robinson holds seven seasons of NBA experience, having played for the Wolves, Sixers, Pacers, Pistons, Warriors and Kings. The 29-year-old has been out of the league since 2020/21, when he made 23 appearances with Sacramento, averaging 5.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG on .424/.364/.913 shooting in those contests (16.0 MPG).

A 6’6″ wing, Robinson holds career regular season averages of 5.9 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .457/.373/.779 shooting in 304 games (105 starts, 17.4 MPG).

In August, Robinson reportedly worked out for the Warriors and Celtics in an effort to make it back into the NBA. While he was unable to land a contract with those clubs, he’ll be given an opportunity with Milwaukee.

However, the Bucks have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and Robinson is ineligible for a two-way deal due to his extensive experience. That means he will likely be waived in the coming days and start 2023/24 with the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate. The Exhibit 10 clause in his contract would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s released and spends at least 60 days with the Herd.

Once the signing is official, the Bucks will have 19 players under contract, two shy of the preseason limit.

Terry Stotts Resigns From Bucks’ Coaching Staff

October 19th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Terry Stotts won’t continue in his role as an assistant coach with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The former Trail Blazers head coach had been out of the league for two years before agreeing to join Adrian Griffin’s new staff in Milwaukee. The Bucks had been searching for an experienced assistant for Griffin, who is in his first year as a head coach.

The 65-year-old Stotts compiled a 402-318 record during his nine seasons as head coach in Portland. He took the Blazers to the playoffs eight times, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. Stotts was previously a head coach in Milwaukee, as well as Atlanta, and holds a career record of 517-486.

No explanation has been given on why Stotts decided to step down less than a week before the start of the regular season or if (and how) the team plans to fill the coaching vacancy.

Bucks Waive Omari Moore, Two Others

October 18th, 2023 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have trimmed their preseason roster from 21 players to 18, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived guards Omari Moore and Jazian Gortman, as well as forward Drew Timme.

Although teams are permitted to carrying 18 players into the regular season (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way deals), Milwaukee’s roster isn’t ready for opening night. Gortman and Timme were on training camp contracts, but Moore was a two-way player, so the Bucks are now carrying 15 players on guaranteed deals, one (Marques Bolden) on a camp contract, and a pair on two-way pacts.

The decision to waive Moore comes as a bit of a surprise, even though he hadn’t made much of an impact on the court in Summer League or the preseason. The undrafted rookie out of San Jose State signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Bucks in early July — that level of team control is rare, since most two-way deals only cover a single season.

Gortman and Timme also joined the Bucks as undrafted free agents this summer after playing for Overtime Elite and Gonzaga, respectively. Both players were on Exhibit 10 contracts and now appear on track to become affiliate players for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League team. If Gortman and Timme spend at least 60 days with the Herd, they’ll each earn a bonus worth $75K.

It remains to be seen whether the Bucks will set their regular season roster by simply converting Bolden to a two-way contract or whether they have more moves on tap in the coming days.

Bucks Notes: Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Middleton, Griffin

October 16th, 2023 at 8:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard gave the league a preview of what their new partnership will look like as they played their first game as teammates on Sunday night, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. They already look comfortable together on the court, McMenamin notes, taking turns handling the ball in the pick-and-roll. They also recognize how playing together can benefit each of their games.

“I’ve never been this open,” Antetokounmpo said after a win over the Lakers. “And first of all, I’ve never seen anybody being double-teamed from the first possession of the game.”

“Having another guy out there that’s just dominant,” Lillard added. “He can dominate a game and win you a game. … First couple plays, they blitz me, they trap me and the guy that I’m releasing the ball to is Giannis. So I’m just like, ‘Uh, we can do this all night.’ You know what I mean?”

Antetokounmpo scored 16 points in 15 minutes while shooting 7-of-10 from the field before resting in the second half. Lillard had 14 points, four steals and three assists and got a chance to run the team in the third quarter without the former MVP on the court.

“Today was a great first step in the right direction,” coach Adrian Griffin said. “You can see those guys love playing together already. And not just Dame and Giannis, but everyone was just pulling for each other.”

There’s more on the Bucks:

Prior to Sunday’s game, Antetokounmpo discussed a variety of topics with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, including the potential to form an all-time great combination with Lillard, the disappointment of losing in the first round of the playoffs and the difficulty of parting with Jrue Holiday as both a teammate and friend. He also addressed his future in Milwaukee, saying he hopes to spend his entire career in the city and denying that offseason comments about putting winning first were an ultimatum to the organization. “The words that I say, I feel like sometimes they’ve been taken out of proportion because I’ve said these words for four or five, six years now. And I don’t know why it’s different this time,” Antetokounmpo said. “… But when your extension comes around, it’s like, ‘Oh, he might leave.’ No, no, no. It’s not the case. I want the best possible team. I want to wake up every single day when I come to work and know that I have a chance to win. And I want the organization to be on the same page and not to be comfortable because we won one (title).”
The Bucks are being cautious with Khris Middleton after offseason knee surgery, but general manager Jon Horst stated Sunday that he may play in the preseason and will definitely be ready for opening night, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel.
Griffin joins ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod to discuss the pairing of Antetokounmpo and Lillard, expectations for the upcoming season and the long road toward getting a head coaching job after about a dozen interviews.