Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Green Room, Houstan, Nembhard, O’Neal, Gillespie

June 9th, 2022 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There were no surprises in the 11 green room invitations forwarded to the draft’s top prospects. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed that the list includes Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis. Approximately four more green room invites will be sent out next week, a source tells Givony.

We have more draft news:

Michigan’s Caleb Houstan and Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, who both hail from Canada, will work out for the Raptors on Friday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. They’re both considered late first-round or second-round prospects and Toronto has the No. 33 overall pick.
LSU forward Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaquille O’Neal, worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. The younger O’Neal will visit the Lakers, Cavaliers, Hawks and Wizards in the very near future.
Villanova guard Collin Gillespie also worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He’ll soon visit the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. Gillespie is ranked at No. 64 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

And-Ones: CBA, Top FAs, Trade Value Ranks, Rookies

June 8th, 2022 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are meeting in Boston on Wednesday to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, the league and union both have the ability to opt out of the current CBA this December, so the two sides are having a preliminary meeting as they prepare to engage in more serious talks about a new CBA in the coming months.

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

John Hollinger of The Athletic lays out the top 25 free agents of 2022 based on his BORD$ formula. Hollinger’s valuation formula deviates from the consensus for several players, including Raptors big man Chris Boucher ($19.8MM), Nets guard Bruce Brown ($19MM), and Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton ($10.8MM).
A team of HoopsHype writers ranked the top 100 players in the NBA by trade value, from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1 to Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis at No. 100.
Rookies typically don’t see a whole lot of action during the NBA playoffs, but the 2021 draft class has had a greater postseason impact than usual, according to Louis Zatzman of FiveThirtyEight.com, who takes a deep dive into the data.
Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net takes a look at some of the top EuroLeague players who are candidates to make a move to the NBA this offseason, including several who already have some NBA experience under their belts.

Draft Notes: Hardy, Braun, Roddy, Pistons, Ivey

June 8th, 2022 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters after working out for Washington on Tuesday, G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy said he has already worked out for the Warriors, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Thunder, and has auditions on tap with the Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, and Pelicans (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic). Viewed as a good bet to be a first-round pick, Hardy currently ranks 22nd overall on ESPN’s big board.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

Kansas shooting guard Christian Braun, the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s board, has worked out for the Bucks, Clippers, and Magic, and had a visit scheduled with the Grizzlies this week, tweets Andrew Lind. Those four teams each have at least one pick between No. 22 and No. 43 in this year’s draft.
Colorado State forward David Roddy, ESPN’s No. 46 prospect, had a meet and greet with Nuggets staffers a month ago and was brought back for a workout with the team on Tuesday, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Asked if he senses interest from the Nuggets, Roddy replied, “I would say so. Everybody’s a fan of my game here. They’ve told me that.” Roddy has also worked out for several other teams, including the Warriors and Raptors, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).
David Aldridge of The Athletic spoke to a handful of coaches and executives at the college and NBA levels to get their thoughts on several of the top guards in the 2022 draft class, including Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Johnny Davis, and several others. One Eastern Conference executive told Aldridge that he knows the Pistons – who hold the No. 5 overall pick – “love” Ivey.

G League's Tillman Worked Out For Bucks

June 6th, 2022 at 10:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

G League First Team selection Justin Tillman worked out for the Bucks last week, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press reports. Tillman, who averaged 23.5 PPG and 11.6 RPG for the College Park Skyhawks, has six more NBA workouts upcoming this month.

Several Roster Changes May Be Needed

June 4th, 2022 at 8:27am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks may have as many as five roster holes to fill and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm takes a comprehensive look at how they’ll approach the offseason and what kinds of free agents they might target.

Stein’s Latest: Portis, J. Howard, Lakers, Celtics, Hornets

June 3rd, 2022 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis has the ability to become an unrestricted free agent this summer by turning down his $4.56MM player option for 2022/23. However, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article that some teams with interest in Portis are extremely pessimistic about their chances of luring the veteran out of Milwaukee.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Portis will exercise his player option. Because he has spent the last two seasons with the Bucks, they now hold his Early Bird rights and would be able to offer him a raise if he opts out. There’s an expectation that Portis will sign a multiyear deal with Milwaukee if he declines his option, according to Stein.

Assuming the Bucks use Portis’ Early Bird rights to re-sign him, they’ll have to offer him a deal covering at least two seasons, since Early Bird contracts can’t be for just one year. They can also offer up to 105% of the league-average salary from the previous season — that should result in a maximum starting salary in the vicinity of $11MM.

Here’s more from Stein:

Based on the rumors circulating in coaching circles, it sounds as if Juwan Howard was the Lakers‘ preferred candidate in their head coaching search, according to Stein. Los Angeles made such “strong overtures” to Howard that it appeared the team preferred him to other long-shot targets like Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers and was willing to offer him the job if he wanted it, Stein adds. Howard wasn’t interested in leaving the University of Michigan, and L.A. ultimately hired Darvin Ham.
The Celtics also had strong interest in Howard a year ago after Brad Stevens moved from the sidelines to the front office and before the team hired Ime Udoka, says Stein. The Lakers will be hoping their new hire works out as well as Udoka has in Boston.
Stein continues to hear that the Hornets are likely to choose between Mike D’Antoni and Kenny Atkinson as they near the end of their head coaching search. D’Antoni and Atkinson were previously identified as finalists for the job, but it wasn’t clear if they were the only candidates still in play.

Kofi Cockburn Will Work Out Soon

June 2nd, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn, considered a second-round prospect, has been busy working out for a variety of teams this week. He’ll visit the Bucks in the near future, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Lucas Williamson Worked Out For Bucks

June 1st, 2022 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Loyola guard Lucas Williamson has a pre-draft workout on tap with the Jazz on Thursday, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Williamson has already worked out for several teams, including the Bucks, Celtics, and Grizzlies, Jones adds.

Details, Reaction To Lakers Choosing Darvin Ham As Head Coach

May 28th, 2022 at 8:29am CST by Dana Gauruder

The news broke on Friday that the Lakers had chosen Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach. Ham was granted some power before he accepted the job on a four-year contract.

He’ll will be given a large amount of autonomy, including the ability to choose his own coaching staff, Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times report. To that end, he’ll meet with current Lakers staff members next week.

Ham sold the Lakers’ brass with his ability to communicate and hold people accountable. They were so impressed by Ham that they passed over a planned interview with Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and offered the Bucks assistant the job. Former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, the other finalist, was interviewed earlier in the week.

We have more on the Lakers’ coaching move:

Although Ham has never been a head coach, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer gave him wide-ranging responsibilities to prepare him for a head coaching position, Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register writes. The fact that he has worked with Kobe Bryant and Giannis Antetokounmpo during his coaching career should suit him well on a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Speaking of Milwaukee’s two-time Most Valuable Player, Antetokounmpo told ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski that the Lakers made the right choice (Twitter link). “I’m so happy for him. He’s the right fit for them,” Giannis said of Ham. “He keeps it real with you. No BS at all. It’s about damn time. He deserves it more than anyone.”
Hiring someone with no head coaching experience to take over the Lakers might seem a little nuts but it could work out perfectly, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. Plaschke notes that the Celtics reached the conference finals under first-year head coach Ime Udoka and the Pelicans are on the upswing with Willie Green. However, Ham will have a lot of difficult issues to fix, including the usage of Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers hired the best available candidate, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. Ham is a defensive-minded tactician who helped develop the Bucks’ championship defensive scheme. Rather than hiring a retread, they decided to step outside of their comfort zone and give a top assistant a chance to run the show.

Vet Minimum Deals Will Be Explored Again

May 26th, 2022 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made a mistake playing George Hill over Jevon Carter against Boston, Eric Nehm of The Athletic opines. Budenholzer overestimated Hill’s postseason impact as he battled through an abdominal injury. Nehm explores numerous topics in his mailbag, including how Milwaukee could improve defensively in future postseasons.
With the Bucks near the luxury-tax threshold for the 2022/23 season, they’ll once again be looking for players who will sign at the veteran’s minimum, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes. Owczarski looks at all of the team’s free agent decisions this summer, pointing out Milwaukee will only have the taxpayer mid-level exception at its disposal to sign outside free agents beyond those minimum-salary roster fillers.