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Bucks Sign, Waive Alex Antetokounmpo

September 19th, 2022 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks waived forward Alex Antetokounmpo on Saturday shortly after signing him to a contract, according to the official transaction log at NBA.com.

Antetokounmpo, the brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, went undrafted in 2021 and spent last season coming off the bench and playing limited minutes for the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. He previously played for UCAM Murcia in Spain during the 2020/21 season.

Only Antetokounmpo’s release – not his signing – shows up on NBA.com’s transaction log, which strongly suggests he received an Exhibit 10 contract, since Exhibit 10 signings aren’t listed on NBA.com’s log. An Exhibit 10 deal would make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ G League affiliate.

Because Antetokounmpo played for the Raptors 905 last season, they would typically hold his returning rights, but they traded those rights to the Herd in July, paving the way for the 21-year-old to play in Wisconsin in 2022/23.

Antetokounmpo is the second player to be signed and quickly waived by the Bucks in the last week, as they begin lining up players for the Herd’s roster. Rob Edwards was the other one.

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Bucks Are In Good Position For Another Title Run

September 17th, 2022 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Unlike most of their competitors in the East, the Bucks didn’t make major changes this offseason and can rely on continuity as they make a run at another NBA title, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Milwaukee still has the defensive foundation to contend for a championship, Gozlan adds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo remains one of the best players in the world. One financial concern that Gozlan points out is that the Bucks appear destined for the repeater tax next season, while Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez will both become unrestricted free agents in July if they don’t receive extensions.
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Examining Six Bucks Players With Most To Prove This Season

September 17th, 2022 at 3:52pm CST by JD Shaw
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Bucks Sign, Waive Rob Edwards

September 17th, 2022 at 9:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks signed and waived guard Rob Edwards, according to RealGM.

The purpose for signing Edwards to an Exhibit 10 deal and then waiving him was to ensure he’ll get a $50K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate. The Herd acquired Edwards’ returning rights in a trade with the Oklahoma City Blue earlier this month.

Edwards signed with and appeared in two NBA games for the Thunder last season under the hardship exception during the wave of COVID that struck the league in late December. In 32 G League games for the OKC Blue, Edwards averaged 13.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG. He shot 34.4% from 3-point range.

Edwards went undrafted in 2020 out of Arizona State.

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Central Notes: Connaughton, Ball, Cunningham

September 13th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pat Connaughton believes he could have gotten more money in free agency but he wanted to stay with the Bucks. That’s why he exercised his contract option this summer before signing an extension, Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes.

“I think I have the opportunity to potentially make a little bit more elsewhere, but for me, to prolong my career, how do you keep yourself in a position where they value what I do? I value winning,” he said. “I value my teammates and the culture that we’ve built, the organization, the management, the ownership, all of it.”

Connaughton, who received a three-year extension worth $28.3MM in July, added that the team is hungry after getting bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Celtics last season.

“I think we have a group of guys that are excited to get back out there and excited to play with a chip on our shoulder and not have that same taste in our mouths,” he said. “It’s one of those things where I’ll never forget sitting in Boston after Game 7. You use that as fuel, you use that as hunger and you take a slow, methodical approach to this offseason to making sure you’re putting yourself in the best position to come out on top again.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • The Bulls are expected to be without their starting point guard, Lonzo Ball, in the early portion of the season due to lingering pain in his surgically repaired left knee. ESPN’s Jamal Collier takes an in-depth look at Ball’s knee issues. Ball hasn’t taken the court since mid-January after originally receiving a projected recovery timeline of eight weeks.
  • The biggest question regarding Pistons guard Cade Cunningham this season is whether he can develop a consistent 3-point shot, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. Edwards also considers what second-year forward Isaiah Livers and lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren must prove in order for Detroit to be a surprise team this season.
  • In case you missed it, the Pistons officially signed Micah Potter to an Exhibit 10 contract.
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EuroBasket Notes: L. Brown, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Ukraine

September 11th, 2022 at 10:30am CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA point guard Lorenzo Brown is part of a controversy at the EuroBasket tournament, according to Eurohoops. Brown scored 28 points and handed out eight assists Saturday, leading Spain to an overtime win over Lithuania in an elimination game. At the post-game press conference, Lithuania’s Mindaugas Kuzminskas suggested the outcome would have been different if not for Brown, who was born in the United States but recently became a Spanish citizen.

“I am not sure how this team would look without Lorenzo Brown because you signed him only this summer,” Kuzminskas said to a Spanish reporter. “But it is how it is.”

Brown, 32, was a second-round pick in the 2013 draft and played for four teams in a five-year NBA career that ended after the 2018/19 season. He has been with several overseas teams since then and recently signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

“Even if I haven’t been here long, I feel like these guys … they have known each other so long and they brought me in as one of them,” Brown said in response to Kuzminskas’ comments. “So it’s just an amazing feeling to have that brotherhood, “la familia” as they call it. It’s really a family. I am coming in here and I am a regular American guy and those guys are talking in Spanish. And I am learning every single day, so it’s amazing what I have learned and how they treated me so far. The outside noise doesn’t bother me at all. I am just worried about what these guys feel about me. And it’s amazing. They love me and I love these guys.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

  • Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to take part in practice without any pain and is expected to play in today’s game against the Czech Republic, according to John Rammas of Eurohoops. Antetokounmpo suffered a mild ankle sprain in Thursday’s contest.
  • Although more than 30 NBA players are involved in this year’s tournament, Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic clearly stand above the rest, Slovenian forward Edo Muric told Rammas in a separate story. “They are both great players, they are next level. So if they want, they can score 50. In (Doncic’s 47-point) game against France, we played without our starting center, so Luka had to step up. That proves he is a very big player, beating France almost by himself, and Giannis is right there, too.”
  • Ukraine’s EuroBasket run ended today with a loss to Poland, but the team served as a source of pride for the war-torn nation, per The Associated Press. Players weren’t able to train in their own country in the wake of the Russian invasion, so they practiced wherever they could. “I hope it inspires and helps them a lot, just to get their thoughts off the war a little bit and just watch us play,” Svi Mykhailiuk said. “Obviously, today was not a great example of us playing, but this whole time, we did our best. I hope they enjoyed it. Obviously, it’s tough for everybody because all the guys’ families are still there and it’s tough having to be here. But I appreciate everyone being here. I appreciate everyone fighting.”
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Eastern Notes: Giannis, Dragic, LaVine, Celtics

September 10th, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by JD Shaw

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo did some weight training and is expected to practice on Sunday with Greece, according to EuroHoops. Antetokounmpo recently suffered a minor ankle sprain, but he seems to be proceeding without any issues.

“We decided to do just an optional training session,” Greek national team assistant coach Sotiris Manolopoulos said. “We left it up to the players to come and make some shots. Giannis did his own training at the hotel and tomorrow will practice without any issues. He is healthy.”

Antetokounmpo sustained the injury on Thursday. With the NBA season around the corner, this is good news for Bucks fans, as they’re hoping to see Milwaukee start the season without any interruptions and win a second championship in three years.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference today:

  • Bulls guard Goran Dragic recently came to the defense of Antetokoummpo in light of Gilbert Arenas‘ negative comments, EuroHoops relays. “Giannis is the MVP. Gilbert Arenas is not,” Dragic said as part of a larger quote. “Was he ever the MVP? I don’t think so. So he can’t talk about Giannis. Giannis won the championship, won the MVP award. He has been the defensive player of the year.” Arenas previously stated that Antetokounmpo “doesn’t understand basketball yet” and downplayed the Bucks star’s 2021 championship.
  • Zach LaVine‘s lucrative new contract will created added pressure on the Bulls star this season, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. LaVine signed a five-year, $215MM deal with the team in July, cementing his future in Chicago. He averaged 24.4 points per game last season, shooting 48% from the floor and 39% from three-point range. The Bulls will be looking to contend once again this season.
  • Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com examines a number of Celtics topics in his latest mailbag. Among the subjects Bulpett discusses is whether Payton Pritchard should play more. With Boston adding Malcolm Brogdon this offseason, Pritchard’s role is arguably more unclear, but he remains an effective option off the bench.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Dealing With Minor Ankle Injury

September 9th, 2022 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exited Greece’s 90-69 win over Estonia on Thursday early due to what the Greek team is referring to as a “light” right ankle sprain, per John Rammas of Eurohoops. Although Antetokounmpo checked out in the third quarter and didn’t return, the injury isn’t viewed as serious.

According to an Associated Press report (via ESPN), Greece’s head coach, Dimitrios Itoudis, said after the game that the Bucks forward received ice and treatment. However, it doesn’t sound like Giannis’ availability for the upcoming single-elimination stage of EuroBasket is in jeopardy. “It’s all good,” Itoudis said.

  • Eric Nehm of The Athletic checks in on how the Bucks‘ international players have been performing at EuroBasket 2022. While Antetokounmpo has obviously excelled, Milwaukee is also presumably encouraged by the play of two-way forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, who averaged 15.2 PPG and 11.0 RPG in the group stage for Georgia.
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2022/23 NBA Over/Unders: Central Division

September 9th, 2022 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

The 2022/23 NBA regular season will tip off next month, so it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and to continue an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites – including Bovada, BetOnline, and Betway – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2021/22, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’22/23?

We’ll keep our series going today with the Central division…

Milwaukee Bucks

Cleveland Cavaliers

Chicago Bulls

Detroit Pistons

Indiana Pacers

Previous voting results:

Southeast

  • Miami Heat (50.5 wins): Under (56.6%)
  • Atlanta Hawks (46.5 wins): Over (53.6%)
  • Charlotte Hornets (36.5 wins): Under (63.0%)
  • Washington Wizards (35.5 wins): Under (50.8%)
  • Orlando Magic (26.5 wins): Over (55.3%)

Southwest

  • Memphis Grizzlies (49.5 wins): Over (68.7%)
  • Dallas Mavericks (48.5 wins): Over (63.7%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (44.5 wins): Over (61.2%)
  • Houston Rockets (24.5 wins): Under (61.8%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (23.5 wins): Under (67.5%)
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Giannis Held Out Due To Knee Pain

September 5th, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Minor knee pain was enough for Greece’s national team to hold out Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo from its EuroBasket contest on Monday, Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN writes. He wasn’t needed, as Greece posted a 93-77 victory over Great Britain.

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