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Bucks Notes: First-Round Loss, Budenholzer, Free Agency, Antetokounmpo, Crowder

April 27th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

After winning a league-best 58 games during the regular season, the Bucks could only manage one victory against a determined Heat team in the postseason, writes Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The betting favorite to win the title heading into the playoffs saw its season end in shocking fashion Wednesday night with an epic fourth quarter collapse and an overtime loss.

“For me, I think this has been the worst postseason ever,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t think, you know, like we have a number in there, like every other team has a number (of games to win a title) like 16, 15, 14, and this like, we’re stuck at 15. I don’t think we’ve ever, as long as I’ve been in the playoffs, been stuck – maybe we lost in the first round – but not stuck at 15. Which is kind of hard to deal with.”

The back injury that Antetokounmpo suffered in Game 1 affected the direction of the series, but there were plenty of other explanations for Milwaukee’s first-round defeat. There were turnovers, missed free throws, rebounding lapses and a lack of focus at critical times.

Several players refused to talk to the media after being eliminated, but those who did expressed severe disappointment.

“I feel like we had the roster to do more than what we’ve done,” Jae Crowder said. “We came up short. Obviously we had a championship in mind and that’s the only conversation we always had, is championship. So we came up short big time. And we failed.”

There’s more from Milwaukee:

Among the lapses were questionable coaching decisions by Mike Budenholzer, who was heavily criticized in the press and on social media following Wednesday’s loss. Budenholzer failed to call a timeout after Jimmy Butler tied the game with 0.5 seconds left in regulation or as the Bucks failed to get off a shot as the final buzzer sounded in overtime. There were rumors that Budenholzer might be fired before the Bucks won the title in 2021, and Tim Cato of The Athletic considers it unlikely that he’ll survive Wednesday’s performance.
Brook Lopez, who will be a free agent, and Khris Middleton, who has a $40.4MM player option, will be the names to watch this offseason, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link). If the front office brings back both players, the Bucks will be a tax team for the fourth straight year.
Antetokounmpo will become eligible for an extension in September, but that could just be a formality, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Gozlan expects the two-time MVP to wait and seek a new long-term contract once his current deal expires.
Crowder is among several free agent bench players who face uncertain futures this summer. After the Bucks gave up five second-round picks to acquire him in February, he got into just three games and played 40 total minutes during the series, notes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (Twitter link).

Giannis Needed IV After Game 4

April 25th, 2023 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Giannis Antetokounmpo “pushed himself to exhaustion” and required a postgame IV after the Bucks’ Game 4 loss to Miami, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (video link). That’s one of the reasons why Antetokounmpo, who returned from a back injury suffered in Game 1, didn’t speak to the media afterward. He’s listed as probable to play in Game 5 on Wednesday, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.

The Pistons are still conducting first-round Zoom interviews with head coaching candidates this week, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee, former Connecticut and Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie and Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins are reportedly meeting again with the team’s brass this week on follow-up interviews. However, the Pistons don’t appear to be in any rush to name a replacement for Dwane Casey, who accepted a front office job.

NBA To Phase In Second Tax Apron

April 25th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The second tax apron that’s included in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will be phased in over two seasons, sources tell John Hollinger of The Athletic.

The new financial provision is designed to discourage excessive spending by the league’s wealthiest franchises. It is set at $17.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and places severe restrictions on teams that go above that figure.

Penalties for exceeding the second apron include the loss of the mid-level exception, a ban on including cash as part of trades and the inability to accept more salary in a trade than the team sends out. A team in the second apron will also be unable to aggregate salary in trades and cannot trade its first-round pick seven years in the future (ie. its 2030 pick in 2023/24) or sign players on the buyout market.

Also, if a team exceeds the second apron and remains there in two of the four subsequent years, its frozen draft pick (the one that was initially seven years out) will get moved to the end of the first round, regardless of the team’s record in that season.

Hollinger points out that the Clippers and Warriors face the most immediate concerns about the second apron. Both teams are currently about $40MM above the luxury tax line and are locked into payrolls at the same level for next season. Hollinger notes that the only way for either team to substantially reduce its payroll over the next few years is to downgrade its roster.

He adds that the Bucks, Celtics, Mavericks, Lakers and Suns are also more than $17.5MM above the tax line this season, but they have easier paths to avoiding the second apron in the future.

There’s more on the new CBA:

Teams that exceed the first apron by going $7MM above the tax will see their taxpayer MLE reduced to $5MM with a two-year maximum for signings, Hollinger adds. Like teams above the second apron, they will also be unable to take back more salary than they send out in any deal and will be prohibited from signing most players who get bought out.
Any team that’s below the league’s salary floor on the first day of the 2024/25 season will not receive a tax distribution for that year, Bobby Marks points out in an ESPN writers’ discussion of the CBA provisions. That’s likely to encourage low-spending teams to add an additional free agent or two to make sure their payroll qualifies. Marks notes that the union also benefits from the addition of 30 more jobs with each team adding a third two-way slot, as well as growth in the non-taxpayer and room mid-level exceptions.
The number of players that teams can have under contract during the offseason and training camp will increase from 20 to 21, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Play In Game 4

April 24th, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

5:33pm: Antetokounmpo will play tonight, according to Budenholzer, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.

9:59am: The Bucks will have Giannis Antetokounmpo for Monday’s Game 4 in Miami, assuming there are no last-minute setbacks, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Antetokounmpo was able to participate in this morning’s shootaround with his teammates (Twitter link from Jamal Collier of ESPN).

The two-time MVP sat out Games 2 and 3 with a lower-back contusion he suffered in the series opener. The teams split those two contests, with the Bucks winning big on Wednesday and the Heat rebounding with a blowout Saturday night to take a 2-1 series lead.

Antetokounmpo had been listed as questionable for tonight, just as he was for the past two games. Coach Mike Budenholzer said Giannis was able to do some individual work on Sunday before the team’s film session.

Charles Lee, Kevin Ollie, Jarron Collins To Get Second Interviews With Pistons

April 24th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons are moving on to the second round of interviews in their search for a new head coach, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee, former Connecticut and Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie and Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins will all meet with team officials again this week, sources tell Wojnarowski.

All three were recently identified as early frontrunners in the process by James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Marc Stein previously stated that Lee and Ollie were considered favorites of general manager Troy Weaver, while Edwards said Collins had a “stellar” first interview with the organization.

The Pistons have been without a coach since Dwane Casey announced after the end of the regular season that he will transition into a front office role.

Antetokounmpo Does Individial Work Before Film Session

April 23rd, 2023 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Giannis Antetokounmpo did some individual work before the Bucks’ film session on Sunday, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. However, coach Mike Budenholzer did not have an immediate update on his superstar’s status for Monday’s Game 4 against the Heat. Antetokounmpo was later listed as questionable, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. The top-seeded Bucks are down 2-1 in the series.
In a related topic, Nehm details how the Bucks struggled offensively without Antetokounmpo in Game 3. Whether or not he returns from his back injury and plays in Game 4, Milwaukee will have to do a much better job matching Miami’s physicality.

Southeast Notes: Young, Murray, Wizards, Bridges, Love

April 22nd, 2023 at 6:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks still face long odds in their first-round series with the Celtics, but they have to be encouraged by the way Trae Young and Dejounte Murray played together Friday night, writes Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. Atlanta avoided a 3-0 deficit as the backcourt combination turned in one of its best games since Murray was acquired last summer. They combined for 57 points in the Game 3 victory, with 38 of those coming in the second half.

“At one point, I was just like, I should just keep quiet and let them do it,” coach Quin Snyder said. “They had some isolation situations where they created for themselves and for other guys, and a lot of that was them just figuring it out. People feed off that.”

Schultz notes that there have been questions about whether they can be effective together ever since the Hawks sent three first-round picks and other assets to the Spurs in exchange for Murray. Former general manager and team president Travis Schlenk reportedly didn’t support the deal, and the results hadn’t been positive during a 41-41 season.

A recent report indicated Atlanta will consider trading Young this summer, but Schultz states that Friday’s performance may show that he and Murray can find a way to make things work.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards may dream about landing a big name like Raptors president Masai Ujiri or Warriors general manager Bob Myers to replace fired GM Tommy Sheppard, but they’re better off pursuing someone who has succeeded in building a team in a mid-level market, contends Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. She names Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon, Knicks GM Scott Perry, Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly as potential targets.
The NBA was too lenient with former Hornets forward Miles Bridges when it agreed to reduce his 30-game suspension to 10 games for next season, argues David Aldridge of The Athletic. Aldridge disagrees with the league’s reasoning that Bridges would have served 20 games of that suspension if he had signed with a team this year and notes that the CBA gives commissioner Adam Silver the power to invoke a harsher penalty under its “misconduct” section.
Kevin Love is back in the Heat‘s starting lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Bucks, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Chiang observes that the new starting five of Love, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo has only played together for two minutes in the series and 13 minutes during the regular season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Won’t Play In Game 3

April 22nd, 2023 at 5:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss at least one more game with a lower back contusion, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Bucks have decided to keep their superstar on the sidelines for tonight’s Game 3 in Miami.

Antetokounmpo suffered the injury in Sunday’s Game 1 when he crashed to the court on a drive to the basket. He was ruled out for Wednesday’s Game 2 shortly before tipoff, and the Bucks have decided to use the same caution for tonight’s contest.

In a pre-game meeting with the media, coach Mike Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo has made progress in his recovery, but added, “These things just aren’t always a linear thing,” tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Budenholzer declined to point to a specific problem that’s preventing Antetokounmpo from playing, telling reporters, “He’s just not ready to go.” (Twitter link)

Milwaukee responded without its team leader to even up the series with a 16-point win on Wednesday. Game 4 will take place Monday night, so Antetokounmpo will have just one off day to try to heal.

Bucks Notes: Haslam, Lopez, Depth, Giannis, Matthews

April 22nd, 2023 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Before buying a stake in the franchise, Jimmy Haslam first spoke to Bucks co-owner Wes Edens when he was mulling the possibility of bidding for the Timberwolves, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“We actually took a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves and a friend of mine said, ‘You should call Wes Edens, he operates a team in the upper Midwest, they’ve had great success,'” Haslam said. “‘Cause you’re concerned, can you attract players, can you win in a small market? So we had about an hour-and-a-half conversation and Wes was hugely helpful.”

While Haslam didn’t end up investing in the Timberwolves, his conversation with Edens made him more comfortable jumping at the chance to purchase a stake in the Bucks when the opportunity arose. Asked for his thoughts about the future of the team in Milwaukee, Haslam expressed confidence in the Bucks’ long-term outlook.

“The first time Wes and I ever talked was (asking) could an NBA team not just reside here, but could it be successful? And they’ve obviously proved they can,” Haslam said. “They’ve punched way over their weight in almost everything in the NBA, starting first of all on the court, which is what counts. I anticipate the team being here for a long time. Listen, this isn’t a turnaround situation. These guys have done a hell of a job, so we’re gonna be quiet and listen and learn, and if we can help down the road, that’s great.”

Here’s more on the Bucks:

Brook Lopez made an All-Star team back in 2013 but has never played in the Olympics and fell just short of earning his first Defensive Player of the Year award this spring. Although he’d like to earn more accolades before he calls it a career, Lopez says he’s motivated by missing out, per Lori Nickel of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I use all that stuff,” he said. “I’d like to be a part of an Olympic team. I still feel like I have a long career left. Hopefully playing the way I play, maybe a couple of all-stars? I have my personal goals, but the way things roll out, it’s definitely motivation for me.”
Without Giannis Antetokounmpo available in Game 2 due to his lower back contusion, the Bucks showed off their depth and proved that they’re capable of holding down the fort until the MVP finalist returns, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.com. Pat Connaughton was one of the role players who provided a critical spark for the team, Owczarski writes for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Will Antetokounmpo be able to return for Game 3 in Miami? That’s still to be determined, as the star forward has been listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest. Giannis did some individual work on Friday, but didn’t take part in practice with his teammates, per Owczarski.
Wesley Matthews, who played nearly 18 minutes in Game 1 of the series and then missed Game 2 with a right calf strain, has been ruled out for Game 3 as well. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Owczarski that the Bucks are hopeful Matthews’ strain isn’t as severe as the one that sidelined him for nine games in February and March.

Latest On Pistons’ Head Coaching Search

April 21st, 2023 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons began conducting interviews for their open head coaching position earlier this week, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who reports that a trio of candidates have emerged as potential frontrunners in the early stages of the process.

Former Overtime Elite head coach Kevin Ollie, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, and Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins are the top three candidates for Detroit’s coaching vacancy so far, says Edwards.

The Pistons had Ollie and Lee high on their list entering the process, according to Edwards, and have now interviewed both of them. Marc Stein identified the duo earlier this week as possible favorites of general manager Troy Weaver, though he noted that vice chairman Arn Tellem would also have “considerable influence” in the search.

As for Collins, the Pistons were “very interested” in the veteran assistant when they began their search, says Edwards. League and team sources tell The Athletic that Collins’ interview with the club was “stellar.”

None of Detroit’s early frontrunners have previously served as NBA head coaches, though Collins and Ollie played in the league.

Lee, who competed in international leagues as a player, has been a longtime assistant under Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee and Atlanta, while Collins was on Steve Kerr‘s staff for seven years in Golden State before moving to New Orleans under Willie Green in 2021. Ollie lacks any sort of NBA coaching experience, but coached at UConn for eight seasons (six as head coach) and led the Overtime Elite program for two years.

The Pistons have no definitive timetable to make a hire and will take their time to evaluate candidates, according to Edwards, who says that more contenders could emerge over the course of the search.