Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Re-Sign Luca Vildoza, Rayjon Tucker

July 9th, 2022 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

After waiving both players on Tuesday, the Bucks have officially re-signed guards Luca Vildoza and Rayjon Tucker to one-year, minimum-salary contracts.

The new deals for Vildoza and Tucker are both non-guaranteed. Tucker’s contract includes Exhibit 10 language, which would allow Milwaukee to convert his deal to a two-way contract, but Vildoza’s does not.

Vildoza, 26, played internationally in Spain for several seasons prior to reaching a buyout to sign with the Knicks in May 2021. The Argentian guard was waived after he underwent foot surgery last October, but caught on with the Bucks and made seven very brief postseason appearances with the team. He has yet to make his NBA regular season debut.

Tucker has appeared in a total of 39 NBA games across three seasons for Utah, Philadelphia, Denver a nd Milwaukee, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in just 7.7 minutes per contest. He has been much more active in the G League during that span, having played for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Wisconsin Herd, and the Delaware Blue Coats. In 27 regular season games this past season for the Herd (the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate), the wing averaged an impressive 21.1 PPG on 53% shooting. He also chipped in 7.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG.

The Bucks now have 17 total players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed salaries and two on two-way deals. The team is also expected to make its new deal with Serge Ibaka official soon.

Bucks Re-Sign Lindell Wigginton

July 8th, 2022 at 7:47pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks have re-signed guard Lindell Wigginton, the team announced in a press release.

Wigginton, 24, played 19 games (10.5 MPG) as a rookie for Milwaukee last season while on a two-way contract, averaging 4.2 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 1.2 APG. The terms of his new deal were not disclosed, but considering both of the team’s two-way spots are currently occupied (by Sandro Mamukelashvili and AJ Green), Wigginton was likely signed to an Exhibit 10 deal.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract that makes the player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived before the regular season begins and then joins his team’s G League affiliate. It can also be converted into a two-way deal before the season.

The Canadian point guard spent most of last season with the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, averaging 16.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 4.9 APG in 25 total games. After going undrafted out of Iowa State in 2019, Wigginton spent his first two pro seasons playing for the G League’s Iowa Wolves, as well as a couple of international stops in Israel and Canada.

Eastern Notes: Banchero, Portis, Wizards, Knicks

July 7th, 2022 at 8:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With the Las Vegas Summer League underway, top pick Paolo Banchero isn’t shying away from the spotlight, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. The Magic forward is eager to show the fans why Orlando considered him the draft’s top prospect.

“I love when big crowds are out, when all the cameras are out, that’s when I play my best,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to it and it’s going to be fun.”

Orlando begins Summer League play tonight.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Bobby Portis has inked his four-year, $48.58MM contract with the Bucks but he’s not in a celebratory mood, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Portis says it just motivates him to keep working. “I’m glad that the Bucks chose to bring me back and we met at terms and this and that, but I’ll always feel like I’ve got something to prove,” he said. “Obviously I’m happy that I got a chance to build generational wealth for my family, but still a lot of work left to do and there’s not time or need to celebrate. I work hard, I work on my game.”
The Wizards still have some holes to fill at point guard and center, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. However, guards Kris Dunn and Pierria Henry and big man Jaime Echenique, who are Summer League team members, could force their way into the mix. There’s a good chance the roster they currently have is essentially the one they will go with when the season opens, Hughes adds.
There are a number of under-the-radar players on the Knicks’ Summer League roster who could catch someone’s attention, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. Braziller provides details on seven of those players, including guard Jean Montero and forward Feron Hunt.

Bucks Sign MarJon Beauchamp To Rookie Contract

July 7th, 2022 at 5:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks have signed shooting guard MarJon Beauchamp to his rookie scale contract, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

Beauchamp, who averaged 15.1 PPG in 12 games for the G League Ignite last season, was the 24th pick in the draft.

Assuming Beauchamp signed for the usual 120% of the rookie scale amount, his four-year contract would be worth $12,544,796 with a first-year salary of $2,420,400.

Rockets Notes: Frontcourt, Tate, Gordon, Martin

July 7th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Whether or not they hang onto Boban Marjanovic, the Rockets would like to add one more big man to their roster, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says the club may use a two-way contract slot to add more depth up front. Trevor Hudgins currently occupies one of Houston’s two-way slots, but the other is empty.

Iko names Moses Brown, Freddie Gillespie, Bruno Fernando, and Mfiondu Kabengele as players who could be of interest to the Rockets as they look to add another frontcourt player.

According to Iko, Houston had some interest in Isaiah Roby after he was waived by Oklahoma City, but the Spurs ultimately claimed him off waivers. The Rockets were ahead of San Antonio in the waiver order and had a trade exception available to claim Roby, but they already have 18 players on guaranteed contracts for 15 spots, so they likely weren’t eager to bring in another.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

The $500K annual bonus in Jae’Sean Tate‘s new three-year contract are tied to the Rockets winning at least 35 games, Iko reports. So Tate would earn an extra $1.5MM if Houston wins 35 or more games in each of the next three seasons.
The Rockets were close to trading Eric Gordon on draft night, possibly to the Sixers, but the deal fell apart, according to Iko, who says the Heat, Bucks, and Suns also pursued Gordon before the draft. Sources tell The Athletic that Philadelphia re-engaged Houston on the veteran shooting guard at the start of free agency, but there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be moved before the season begins.
The Rockets aren’t in any rush to trade Kenyon Martin Jr. either, says Iko, noting that Martin may “need to mend some internal relationships” if a trade doesn’t materialize and he remains in Houston.

Contract Details: Monk, Bucks, Edwards, Dort, Jones

July 6th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Malik Monk‘s two-year deal with the Kings is worth approximately $19.42MM in total, with a first-year salary of $9.47MM, Hoops Rumors has learned. While Sacramento used most of the mid-level exception to bring Monk aboard, the team still has $1,017,781 left on the MLE, which is the exact value of the rookie minimum salary.

The Kings didn’t have a second-round pick in this year’s draft, so that leftover mid-level money won’t go to a 2022 draftee. But the club may have it earmarked for a player like Sasha Vezenkov, a 2017 second-rounder whose draft rights were acquired from Cleveland last month. Using that leftover mid-level money, Sacramento could offer Vezenkov – or another player – a minimum-salary deal that exceeds two years.

Here are a few more details on recently-signed contracts from around the NBA:

As expected, Joe Ingles got the full taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.48MM) from the Bucks, while Bobby Portis‘s four-year deal is worth the most he could receive using his Early Bird rights ($48.58MM), Hoops Rumors has learned. Portis’ contract includes a 15% trade kicker and a fourth-year player option.
Wesley Matthews‘ new deal with the Bucks is a one-year, minimum-salary contract, while the team used Jevon Carter‘s Non-Bird rights to give him a first-year salary ($2.1MM) worth a little more than his minimum ($1.97MM). Carter’s second-year player option is for the veteran’s minimum.
Kessler Edwards‘ two-year deal with the Nets, which features a second-year team option, is – as expected – worth the minimum.
Luguentz Dort‘s five-year contract with the Thunder includes a team option in year five and has a total base value of $82.5MM. It can be worth up to $87.5MM if Dort earns $5MM in total unlikely bonuses ($1MM annually), tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Tyus Jones‘ two-year deal with the Grizzlies begins at $15MM and declines to $14MM in 2023/24, per Marks (Twitter link). The deal includes an additional $1MM in unlikely incentives related to the team’s performance, Marks adds.

Lakers Sign Thomas Bryant To One-Year Deal

July 6th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

4:02pm: The Lakers have officially signed Bryant, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The big man told reporters today that he’s fully recovered from the ACL tear he suffered in early 2021.

“(It feels) 100 percent great,” Bryant said (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group). “Not good. Great.”

6:01am: The Lakers have reached an agreement with free agent center Thomas Bryant and will sign him to a one-year contract, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Haynes doesn’t provide any specifics on the financial terms, but given that Los Angeles has committed to using its taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker and is ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade without shedding significant salary, it’s safe to assume it will be a minimum-salary deal.

Bryant, who will turn 25 later this month, began his NBA career with the Lakers, having been acquired from Utah in a draft-night deal in 2017. The 42nd overall pick appeared in just 15 games as a rookie with L.A. and was waived in the summer of 2018.

The Wizards claimed Bryant off waivers and the big man spent the next four seasons in D.C., though his time there was marred by injuries. After a promising 2019/20 season in which he averaged 13.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (36 starts), Bryant suffered a torn ACL early in the ’20/21 campaign. That injury resulted in him playing just 37 games over the last two seasons.

Now fully recovered from his ACL tear, Bryant drew interest from the Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, and Jazz this offseason, sources tell Haynes.

The former Indiana Hoosier could be an intriguing bounce-back candidate entering the 2022/23 season. According to Haynes, he’ll be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup with his new team in Los Angeles.

Bucks Waive Rayjon Tucker, Luca Vildoza

July 5th, 2022 at 5:11pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks have waived Rayjon Tucker and Luca Vildoza, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).

The three-year, minimum-salary deal that Tucker signed with the Bucks at the end of last season was non-guaranteed entering the offseason, as was the two-year deal that Vildoza signed, so Milwaukee won’t face any financial penalties for releasing either player. Vildoza’s contract would have been partially guaranteed for $500K had he made it to the start of the 2022/23 regular season with the Bucks.

The 24-year-old Tucker went undrafted out of Little Rock in 2019 and spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021 and got a 10-day deal from the Nuggets in December 2021. Tucker was signed by the Bucks with a couple of days left in the ’21/22 regular season and played in two games, plus eight postseason appearances at the end of lopsided games.

Tucker has appeared in a total of 39 NBA games across three seasons, averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.0 RPG in just 7.7 minutes per contest. He has been much more active in the G League during that span, having played for the Salt Lake City Stars, the Wisconsin Herd, and the Delaware Blue Coats. In 27 regular season games this past season for the Herd (the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate), the wing averaged an impressive 21.1 PPG on 53% shooting. He also chipped in 7.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG.

Vildoza, 26, played internationally in Spain for several seasons prior to reaching a buyout to sign with the Knicks in May 2021. His four-year deal with New York was non-guaranteed beyond the end of that season, and the team ended up waiving him before he underwent foot surgery last October.

The Argentinian guard is reportedly fully healthy and recovered from the surgery, but he has yet to make his regular season debut. He did, however, make seven very brief postseason appearances with the Bucks, his only official NBA action to date beyond Summer League.

After re-signing the majority of their own free agents and agreeing to a deal with Joe Ingles, the Bucks will tentatively have 14 players on their roster once first-round pick MarJon Beauchamp is signed to his rookie deal. The 15th spot could be reserved for restricted free agent Jordan Nwora, assuming the two sides can find a deal that works for both parties.

Serge Ibaka Will Provide Defense, Experience For Bucks' Bench

July 5th, 2022 at 2:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks decided to re-sign Serge Ibaka to provide depth in the frontcourt, notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Ibaka didn’t make much of an impact after being acquired at the trade deadline and he probably won’t have a larger role next season, but his defensive presence and experience give him value as a backup big man.

13 Trade Exceptions Set To Expire In July

July 4th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 13 traded player exceptions created during the 2021 NBA offseason are set to expire this month if they go unused.

A trade exception is an NBA salary cap exception that can be generated when a team trades a player away. It allows that team to acquire a certain amount of salary without sending out any in return for one year after the exception was created. The club is permitted to trade for a player earning the amount of the exception, plus $100K.

For instance, the Trail Blazers are set to use their $20,864,198 trade exception, created in February’s CJ McCollum trade, to acquire Jerami Grant, who is earning $20,955,000 in 2022/23. Grant narrowly fits into that TPE after accounting for the $100K in wiggle room.

Most trade exceptions expire without being used, but teams can sometimes find a use for them — especially the bigger ones like Portland’s. So it’s worth keeping tabs on which ones are still available.

Here are the 13 exceptions set to expire this month:

Boston Celtics: $17,142,857 (expires 7/18)
Los Angeles Clippers: $8,250,000 (expires 7/18)
Indiana Pacers: $7,333,333 (expires 7/7)
New Orleans Pelicans: $6,382,262 (expires 7/7)
Chicago Bulls: $5,000,000 (expires 7/7)
Memphis Grizzlies: $4,054,695 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $3,246,530 (expires 7/6)
Toronto Raptors: $3,070,052 (expires 7/6)
Atlanta Hawks: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Golden State Warriors: $1,782,621 (expires 7/7)
Milwaukee Bucks: $1,517,981 (expires 7/7)
Boston Celtics: $1,440,549 (expires 7/7)
Brooklyn Nets: $118,342 (expires 7/6)

The Celtics’ $17MM exception, created in last year’s Evan Fournier sign-and-trade, is the most noteworthy one here, but it appears unlikely to be used. Boston reached a deal last week to acquire Malcolm Brogdon without having to use the exception, and now appears to be a long shot to strike another major trade agreement.

The third exception on this list, the Pacers’ $7.3MM TPE, will disappear if Indiana decides to operate under the cap. The team would have to renounce the exception in order to actually make use of its cap room.

While it’s possible some of the other exceptions on this list will be used before they expire, they won’t accommodate any of the deals that have been agreed upon to date.

The full list of outstanding trade exceptions can be found right here.