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Community Shootaround: Bucks’ Offseason Moves

July 25th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Entering the 2024 offseason, the Bucks were limited to signing veterans on minimum-salary contracts because they project to be over the second tax apron. Despite that very obvious constraint, they had still had an attractive situation for role players, with clear rotation minutes available at starting shooting guard, backup guard and backup forward for a team that won the title three years ago and has won the most regular season games in the NBA since 2019.

Milwaukee managed to sign Gary Trent Jr. (25 years old), Delon Wright (32) and Taurean Prince (30) on minimum deals, essentially replacing Malik Beasley (27), Patrick Beverley (36) and Jae Crowder (34) — clear upgrades at every position, both in terms of age and production.

While Trent will get most of the attention, and it is genuinely surprising he couldn’t find a better contract, I really like the addition of Wright. Anyone who watched him shut down Darius Garland — a very difficult player to stay in front of — a couple years ago in Atlanta’s play-in victory over Cleveland can attest to Wright’s ability to defend. He is consistently among the very best guards in the league defensively.

Wright earned between $7.8MM-$9.5MM annually from 2019-2024, so he also took a major pay cut by joining the Bucks — that was less surprising than Trent’s pay cut, however, given that Wright agreed to a buyout with Washington last season in order to sign with Miami for a prorated version of the minimum.

Wright has never been a particularly eager scorer, but the Bucks don’t need him to be — he just needs to hit enough shots to keep defenses honest. He is a solid rebounder, passer and play-maker who takes exceptionally good care of the ball — he had 119 assists and 14 turnovers in 2023/24, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 8.4-to-1. That was an outlier in part due to his low usage, but he was at 4.4-to-1 and 4.2-to-1 the previous two seasons, among the best marks in the league. Wright’s teams have consistently been better when he’s on the court, largely due to his defense.

Milwaukee desperately needed backcourt defense this summer to complement Damian Lillard, a poor defender who excels on the other end. They also needed younger legs and players who can shoot, which they acquired in Trent and Prince.

Trent is a little erratic on both ends of the court. His offensive value is tied to his ability to make shots, and he’s streaky; defensively, he’s not the best at moving his feet, but he’s not a turnstile like Beasley and he can create turnovers with steals, even if he can be prone to gambling. He isn’t a perfect player, but getting Trent on a minimum after he played pretty well earning $52MM over the past three seasons is incredible value.

One of the interesting things about the Bucks’ offseason was that they kept both of their 2024 draft picks — Nos. 23 and 33 — and used them to select players who were viewed to be more long-term prospects in AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith. An athletic but thin guard, the 19-year-old Johnson spent last season playing a limited role in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks, while Smith, a 6’11” forward who can space the floor, spent the ’23/24 campaign with the now-defunct G League Ignite.

The Bucks have been aggressive in trading draft picks for immediate upgrades for years. And given they’re trying to win right now, taking prospects who might need more time to develop is a little counterintuitive. However, Milwaukee also knows it needs to develop players internally to have a shot at remaining competitive with an aging core roster. A.J. Green, MarJon Beauchamp, Andre Jackson and Chris Livingston are among the other young players who will be looking to turn the corner in ’24/25.

Obviously, the Bucks’ postseason ceiling will depend on the health of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. After they won that title in 2021, one of Antetokounmpo or Middleton has been injured in each of the past three playoffs; Lillard was also battling ailments in his first postseason with Milwaukee. Still, it’s hard to imagine Jon Horst and the rest of the front office having a more productive offseason than it did, given what its financial constraints.

It’s worth noting that veteran forwards Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Danilo Gallinari and Crowder remain unrestricted free agents. However, the Bucks have a full 18-man roster, making a return for any of them seemingly unlikely; Giannis’ older brother Thanasis has spent the past five seasons with Milwaukee but could miss the entire ’24/25 season due to a torn Achilles tendon.

We want to know what you think. What did you think of Milwaukee’s offseason moves? Will Trent, Wright and Prince prove to be difference-makers? Will the rookies or other young players emerge as regular contributors in 2024/25? Head to the comments to share your thoughts on the Bucks’ outlook for ’24/25.

Suns To Hire James Posey As Assistant Coach

July 25th, 2024 at 3:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns are hiring former NBA forward James Posey as an assistant coach, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

A native of Cleveland who also played college ball in Ohio at Xavier, the 47-year-old Posey will be joining Mike Budenholzer‘s new coaching staff in Phoenix.

According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who was first to report the Suns’ interest in Posey, Phoenix now has seven assistant coaches: David Fizdale, Vince Legarza, Mike Hopkins, Chad Forcier, Chaisson Allen, Brent Barry and Posey. The news of former NBA sharpshooter Barry joining the Suns was reported by Wojnarowski on Tuesday.

Posey played in the NBA from 1999-2011, winning titles in 2006 with the Heat and 2008 with the Celtics. Following his retirement, he joined the coaching staff of Cleveland’s G League team in Canton, then became an assistant on the Cavaliers’ staff from 2014-19. He won another championship with the Cavs in 2016.

Posey, who was an assistant coach in 2021/22 for the women’s basketball program at the University of Virginia, was an assistant with the Wizards for the past two seasons. He was let go in April when Washington overhauled its staff.

Anthony Gill Re-Signs With Wizards

July 25th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

1:58pm: While we don’t yet know the terms of the contract, Gill has officially re-signed with the Wizards, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

10:25am: Free agent forward Anthony Gill is re-signing with the Wizards, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.

Gill, 31, has played the last four seasons with Washington. Last season, he appeared in 50 games (three starts) and averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per contest.

Gill reached double figures in points in six of the last 11 games of the season when he saw regular playing time on a depleted roster. His two-year, veteran’s-minimum deal expired at the end of the season.

He’ll add depth, experience and leadership to a mostly young roster. No details of the agreement have been reported but the addition of Gill would give the Wizards 19 players on their training camp roster, including 17 on standard contracts. Two of those players on standard deals (Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler) have non-guaranteed salaries.

Over his four-year career, Gill has averaged 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game across 179 outings.

Gill had reportedly drawn interest from multiple European teams, including Barcelona and Anadolu Efes, but preferred to remain in the NBA. Gill started his professional career in Europe, having played for Russian club Khimki from 2017-20 after going undrafted out of Virginia.

Heat Sign Josh Christopher To Two-Way Contract

July 25th, 2024 at 1:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat have signed free agent guard Josh Christopher to a two-way contract, the team announced (via Twitter). To create a two-way roster spot, Miami waived undrafted rookie Zyon Pullin.

Christopher is a former first-round pick (24th overall in 2021) who spent his first two NBA seasons in Houston before being traded to Memphis last summer. The Grizzlies eventually waived Christopher and his guaranteed contract for 2023/24 in late September, which also effectively declined his fourth-year team option for ’24/25.

Christopher later caught on with the Jazz, spending a few months with Utah on a two-way deal before being released in January. Despite being eligible to, he did not appear in an NBA game last season, having split the campaign with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBA G League affiliate, and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s affiliate.

The 22-year-old Christopher is being rewarded for his standout playing during Las Vegas Summer League, which saw the Heat win the championship in dramatic fashion, an overtime finish over Memphis. Christopher was named the title game’s MVP after registering a team-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers. He also added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks.

“I think this Heat culture thing just brought the best out of me. I don’t think I’ve had a series of games better than this in my life, honestly,” said Christopher, who averaged 19.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals on .541/.525/.1.000 shooting in his six appearances in Vegas (25.9 MPG).

As for Pullin, the 23-year-old point guard showed flashes during Summer League, but he also didn’t earn much playing time (11.9 MPG). The former UC-Riverside and Florida star will be an unrestricted free agent in a couple days if he clears waivers.

Dru Smith and Keshad Johnson occupy the Heat’s other two-way spots, as shown by our tracker.

Clippers Sign Trentyn Flowers To Two-Way Deal

July 25th, 2024 at 12:10pm CST by Rory Maher

The Clippers have signed undrafted rookie free agent Trentyn Flowers to a two-way contract, per NBA.com’s official transactions log.

A 6’7″ guard/forward, Flowers was reported in late June to be landing with L.A.. The type of contract was not specified at the time, but the 19-year-old was called by president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, owner Steve Ballmer and head coach Tyronn Lue, indicating he likely agreed to something more significant than a summer league deal.

Flowers was considered a potential late second-round pick (No. 56) on ESPN’s big board before going undrafted in 2024. He was the fourth-best prospect available on the open market following the draft, per ESPN.

An American prospect who spent the 2023/24 season in the NBL’s Next Stars program, Flowers averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds on .458/.421/.613 shooting in 18 games (12.7 minutes) with the Adelaide 36ers. Flowers is considered a top-tier athlete with scoring upside, but the rest of his game isn’t very well rounded at this stage of his development.

As our two-way contract tracker shows, the Clips had a pair of two-way vacancies before signing Flowers — they now have one.

International Notes: Vezenkov, Anderson, Gillespie, Brazdeikis, Jokubaitis, Moneke

July 25th, 2024 at 9:37am CST by Dana Gauruder

Sasha Vezenkov is thrilled to be back in Europe, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net writes. He signed a five-year contract with Olympiacos after getting waived by the Raptors.

“The goal is to reach the top. With a few words and a lot of work. I am happy to be back with all of you, to rejoin my old teammates and the new players,” Vezenkov said in a press conference.

The Greek team is equally as excited to have Vezenkov back in the fold. “Vezenkov is the best player in Europe. He went to the NBA as the best player in Europe. He has won and will continue winning championships with Olympiacos for the next five years,” team co-owner Panagiotis Angelopoulos said.

Vezenkov was so eager to return that he reportedly gave up his entire $6,658,536 NBA salary for 2024/25 in a buyout agreement with Toronto. According to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops, the forward’s new deal with Olympiacos is worth 18.5 million Euros across five years, post-taxes.

We have more international news:

Former NBA wing Justin Anderson has joined FC Barcelona on a one-year deal, Sportando relays. Anderson played last season for Valencia Basket. Anderson appeared in 242 NBA games after being a 2015 first-round pick, most recently with Cleveland and Indiana during the 2021/22 season.
Freddie Gillespie has signed a one-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The American forward last played for KK Crvena Zvesda. He appeared in 29 games for Toronto and Orlando from 2020-22.
Forward Ignas Brazdeikis is returning to Zalgiris Kaunas, according to a press release. The University of Michigan product appeared in 64 NBA games, mostly with Orlando, from 2019-22.
Rokas Jokubaitis has officially signed his three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to a team press release. His former team, Barcelona, announced this week that it has officially parted ways with him. Jokubaitis played for the Knicks during the Summer League and his NBA rights continue to be held by New York.
After a report surfaced this week claiming that he had agreed to sign with Partisan Belgrade, former NBA big man Chima Moneke declared on his social media account (Twitter link) that he is committed to playing for Baskonia next season. “I genuinely don’t know who is making up all these rumors but they’re getting tiring. I’m a Baskonia player and I’m really excited for this season,” he wrote. Moneke appeared in two games with Sacramento in 2022/23.

Stephen Curry Prefers To Stay With Warriors, But Not As “Bottom Feeder”

July 24th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Stephen Curry emphasizes his desire to finish his career with the Warriors, but admits there are circumstances that could make him think about leaving. Curry’s comments are in response to a question about whether he would be willing to follow the path of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, who remained loyal to one franchise but wound up playing on average teams late in their careers.

“It’s tough, right? I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry said. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. And you can still be competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep re-imagining what it looks like to evolve with what the league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.

“I’m taking it one step at a time to be honest. I think that’s the only way that will protect my happiness. Also, it allows me to enjoy being myself when I’m out there playing. And I’ll continue to make the decisions that are best for me and for my career at the end of the day when it comes to just the imagination. I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a long-winded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”

Curry is only two years removed from a championship, but Golden State was knocked out of the play-in tournament last season and the roster is starting to undergo significant changes. Klay Thompson, Curry’s longtime backcourt partner, was sent to Dallas in a sign-and-trade earlier this month, taking away an important element of the group that captured four titles over the past decade.

Curry said it still feels “weird” to think about the Warriors without Thompson, and he doesn’t expect his absence to fully sink in until the start of training camp.

“All things have to come to an end at some point. I wish it would’ve turned out differently,” Curry said. “I wish we could have rode into the sunset, all three of us [Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson] as Warriors for our whole career. [Thompson] made a decision that he felt was best for himself. What we were able to do for how long we were able to do it and together, it’s special and it speaks to how hard it is to do that. So, I’m going to choose to celebrate all the things we accomplished and all the experiences we had instead of feeling any type of resentment.”

The Warriors have retooled their roster this summer, adding De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield since the loss of Thompson. Curry also pointed to Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis as young players who have to take on greater responsibilities for the Warriors to become title contenders again.

“You have to make the necessary adjustments and evolve how we play to maximize the team that we have,” he added. “I have an optimistic attitude that it’s going to work and that we are going to be a competitor, be in the mix until proven otherwise. That’s the only way I can think right now.”

Northwest Notes: Trail Blazers, Mitchell, Topic, Nuggets

July 24th, 2024 at 9:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers’ rebuilding process is happening at a fortunate time in light of the NBA’s new restrictive apron provisions, writes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. With so many young players on the roster, Portland doesn’t face the immediate decisions that other teams have to deal with, but it’s only a matter of time until its recent draft picks become eligible for extensions.

Highkin doesn’t believe the Blazers would have gotten nearly the same return for Damian Lillard if they had waited another year to trade him. Teams are placing a greater value on draft picks and are becoming less willing to gamble on older players with multiple years remaining on expensive contracts. Highkin points to Dejounte Murray, whom Atlanta traded for far less than it gave up to acquire him two years ago, along with Trae Young, Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine, who may all have been dealt by now if the old rules were still in effect.

Highkin also notes that max extensions for rookie scale contracts don’t seem as automatic as they used to be. He states that Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams appear to be the only “locks” to get those extensions next summer, when Portland will have to decide whether Shaedon Sharpe is worthy of a long-term commitment in excess of $200MM.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Ajay Mitchell‘s Summer League performance showed why the Thunder were willing to trade up to the 38th pick to acquire him, observes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. The Santa Barbara guard, who recently signed a two-way contract, showed an ability to change speeds and finish around the basket, posting an 11-point, 10-assist double-double early in Las Vegas. First-round pick Dillon Jones displayed “flashes and flaws” in his first Summer League experience, while 2022 lottery pick Ousmane Dieng was held out of the games in Vegas after playing in Salt Lake City.
Nikola Topic could turn out to be a steal for the Thunder at No. 12 when he returns next season from his partially torn ACL, Rylan Stiles states in a Sports Illustrated piece. Oklahoma City was willing to wait a year for Topic to get healthy, and he could develop into a lead guard for the second unit.
The Nuggets will open their preseason schedule with a pair of games against the Celtics Oct. 4 and 6 in Abu Dhabi, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Denver will host the Suns Oct. 13 and the Thunder Oct. 15 before traveling to face the Timberwolves Oct 18.

Olympic Notes: Durant, Kerr, Boylen, Canada

July 24th, 2024 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s status for Team USA’s first Olympic game will be a group decision, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. A strained right calf prevented Durant from playing in any of the team’s exhibition contests, but he was able to practice on Wednesday, and his agent, Rich Kleiman, told Windhorst that Durant felt good enough to play in the last two games in London.

“It’s not just our training staff, but [USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill] is constantly in touch with Kevin’s people and with the Suns,” coach Steve Kerr said regarding the decision on whether Durant will be available Sunday against Serbia. “This is not going to be like us going out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s just throw him out there.’ This will be a big collaboration.”

After Monday’s victory over Germany, Kerr said Durant was “day-to-day” and needed to go through two straight practices and a scrimmage before being cleared to play. A full-contact practice planned for Thursday should indicate the progress for Durant, who suffered the calf injury roughly a month ago.

“The plan is for him to get in the scrimmage and see how he handles that,” Kerr said. “He looked good today and he did everything and got a lot of shots up and told me he’s feeling pretty good.”

There’s more on Team USA:

Kerr was unhappy with the slowness of Monday’s game, marking the closest he has come all summer to criticizing his team, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Instead of pushing the ball to maximize their advantages in speed and athleticism, the Americans frequently settled for setting up in their halfcourt offense. They also allowed Germany to hit 13 three-pointers and dominate the offensive boards. “I hated our pace the other day against Germany — we were just walking the ball up the floor,” Kerr said. “The tape was tough to watch.”
Jim Boylen was experiencing a difficult time both personally and professionally when he got an offer from USA Basketball in 2021, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. In addition to being fired as head coach of the Bulls, Boylen went through a divorce and dealt with the death of his brother. He was asked to coach the U.S. in qualifying games for the FIBA World Cup, which was the first step toward reaching the Olympics. “The competitive part of it was exactly what I needed at that point in my life,” Boylen said.
Danny Chau of The Ringer examines Canada’s growth into a basketball power that may be poised to win its first basketball Olympic medal since 1936.

Bulls Waive Andrew Funk

July 24th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have opened up a two-way roster spot by waiving Andrew Funk, the team announced (via Twitter).

The 24-year-old shooting guard signed a two-way deal with Chicago in late February after starting the season with Grand Rapids in the G League. He saw limited playing time in five games with the Bulls, going scoreless in 13 total minutes.

Funk’s contract ran though the 2024/25 season, but Chicago decided to terminate it and look elsewhere for a two-way player.

Funk was part of the Bulls’ Summer League team, averaging 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in five games in Las Vegas. He shot just 16.7% from the field and 17.6% from three-point range.

Chicago’s other two-way players are DJ Steward and Adama Sanogo.