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Bucks Notes: Middleton, Lopez, Draft, Besson, Quinn

May 17th, 2023 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Bucks are determined to re-sign Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, they may have to trade at least one of their mid-level salaries to avoid the punitive restrictions in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Milwaukee already has $114.78MM committed to six players for next season, putting the team in sight of the projected $134MM salary cap.

The Bucks are about to pay the luxury tax for the third straight year, so they have to be mindful of the repeater penalties that will kick in if they top next season’s projected tax threshold of $162MM. Nehm notes that it will be almost impossible to stay under that number if Middleton picks up his $40.4MM player option, especially with Lopez seeking an increase on the $13.9MM he made this season. Middleton could also agree to decline the option and work out a long-term deal with a smaller salary for next year.

Nehm adds that the next figure to be concerned about is $179.5MM, which is where the new second apron is projected to begin. He notes that if the Bucks reach $170.18MM in salary with eight players, they won’t be able to offer an outside free agent more than a minimum contract, which is projected at $1.99MM for 2023/24, without going into the second apron.

If general manger Jon Horst chooses to unload salary to ease the team’s financial burden, Nehm sees Bobby Portis ($11.71MM next season), Pat Connaughton ($9.24MM) and Grayson Allen ($8.93MM) as the most likely to be traded.

There’s more from Milwaukee:

  • Horst and his staff are going through draft preparations even though the Bucks only hold the 58th and final pick, per Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel. Horst wants the team to be ready for any scenario that might occur on draft night. “It’s not unforeseeable that we could acquire a first-round pick in some sort of deal that we execute prior to or at the draft, and they have to be ready for that,” he said. “We obviously possess a pick at the end of the second round. We have to be ready for that. But also, the trades and things that happen from a personnel, an NBA personnel standpoint, be ready for that.”
  • The Bucks are continuing to monitor the progress of Hugo Besson, who was selected at No. 58 last year and was acquired from the Pacers for cash considerations, Owczarski adds. The French guard played four Summer League games for Milwaukee in 2022 and then joined Victor Wembanyama on Metropolitans 92.
  • Heat assistant Chris Quinn could be a name to watch in the Bucks’ coaching search if he can convince ownership that he can translate some of Miami’s toughness to Milwaukee, suggests Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.
  • In case you missed it, University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and Wizards assistant Joseph Blair are the Bucks’ latest interviewees.
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Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon Named Sixth Man Of The Year

April 20th, 2023 at 6:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics reserve combo guard Malcolm Brogdon has been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for 2022/23, the league announced on Thursday (Twitter link).

In his first season with the Celtics following a 2022 trade from Indiana, Brogdon averaged 14.9 PPG on .484/.444/.870 shooting splits. Across 67 games, the 6’5″ guard also chipped in 4.2 RPG, 3.7 APG and 0.7 SPG, and was a critical component on both sides of the ball during Boston’s 57-25 season.

Brogdon is the first Celtic to win the honor since eventual Hall of Fame center Bill Walton did so for the 1986 title team, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Brogdon’s Celtics are currently leading the Hawks 2-0 in their ongoing first-round playoff series.

As the NBA announced last week, the three finalists for the honor were Brogdon, Bucks backup big man Bobby Portis, and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley. Each would have been a first-time winner.

According to the NBA, Quickley was the runner-up in Sixth Man voting over Portis, Clippers guard Norman Powell and Kings guard Malik Monk. Brogdon received 60 first-place votes and 408 overall points, while Quickley got 34 first-place votes and 326 points. Portis earned the remaining six first-place votes and 97 points.

A total of 10 players earned at least one vote.

Earlier this week, All-Star Grizzlies power forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, All-Star Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox was honored as the NBA’s first-ever Clutch Player of the Year, and his Sacramento head coach Mike Brown won his second Coach of the Year award.

A global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters voted on all of this season’s awards recipients. The Rookie of the Year, MVP and Executive of the Year have yet to be named.

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NBA Announces 2022/23 Award Finalists

April 14th, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA announced its finalists for all the major 2022/23 regular season awards on Friday evening (all Twitter links can be found here).

Here is the full list of finalists for each of the awards, listed in alphabetical order:

Most Valuable Player

Defensive Player of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Most Improved Player

Sixth Man of the Year

Coach of the Year

Clutch Player of the Year

TNT will begin announcing the winners next week during its coverage of the 2023 playoffs, according to the NBA. The three finalists for each award are based on voting results from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Antetokounmpo, the league’s back-to-back MVP winner in 2018/19 and ’19/20, has finished fourth and third in MVP voting over the past two seasons, respectively. He averaged a career-high 31.1 PPG along with 11.8 RPG and 5.7 APG on .553/.275/.645 shooting in 63 games (32.1 MPG) this season in leading the Bucks to the NBA’s best record at 58-24.

Embiid, the MVP runner-up in each of the past two years, led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season, posting a career-high 33.1 PPG along with 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.7 BPG on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 MPG). The Sixers finished third in the East with a 54-28 record, though it’s worth noting that record is also the third-best mark in the league.

Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP, averaged 24.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 9.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on .632/.383/.822 shooting in 69 games (33.7. MPG). In addition to breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s record for most assists per game by a center (8.6), Jokic led the Nuggets to the top seed in the West with a 53-29 record.

It’s long been assumed that Banchero, Brown and Fox were the runaway favorites for their respective awards. Given Embiid’s excellent play to end the season and Denver’s stumble to the finish line, it seems likely that Embiid will edge out Jokic and Antetokounmpo to win his first MVP — all three finalists are more than deserving, just as they were last year.

However, the other three awards are more up in the air. Jackson and Lopez have been considered the betting favorites for DPOY for much of the second half of the season. Mobley’s inclusion is somewhat surprising, but maybe it shouldn’t be — the Cavs finished with the league’s top defense and he is arguably the best defender on the team.

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Kawhi Leonard, Bobby Portis Named Players Of The Week

April 10th, 2023 at 2:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Leonard averaged 25.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists on .491/.389/.842 shooting in leading the Clippers to a 3-0 record last week. They secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face Phoenix in the first round.

In 52 games this season, the two-time Finals MVP averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals on .512/.416/.871 shooting. Leonard is under contract at $45.6MM in 2023/24 and holds a $48.8MM player option for ’24/25.

Portis, the East’s winner, averaged 20.0 points and 12.3 boards on .447/.591/.636 shooting in three games last week. The Bucks went 2-1 in those contests and 2-2 overall last week, resting some key players as they locked up the NBA’s top overall seed for the playoffs.

The 28-year-old averaged 14.1 points and a career-high 9.6 rebounds on .496/.370/.768 shooting in 70 games this season, primarily off the bench (22 starts, 26.0 minutes). The veteran big man should get some votes for Sixth Man of the Year following his strong regular season. Portis is under contract through at least ’24/25 with a player option for ’25/26.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram and LeBron James, while Jimmy Butler, Portis’ teammate Jrue Holiday, Immanuel Quickley and Pascal Siakam were nominated in the East.

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Bucks Notes: Giannis, Lopez, Portis, Kings Skirmish

March 14th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

While Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid may end up as the top two finishers in MVP voting this season for the third consecutive year, Bucks general manager Jon Horst wants to make sure voters don’t overlook two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Speaking to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Horst expressed a belief that Antetokounmpo is suffering from “greatness fatigue,” with voters getting accustomed to the eye-popping numbers that the star forward is putting up. Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-best 31.5 points per game in 53 games this season to go along with 11.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per night while playing at an All-Defensive level. At 49-19, the Bucks have the NBA’s best record.

“He’s also doing this playing less minutes than anybody, which is remarkable. That’s a sacrifice,” Horst said of Giannis, who is averaging just 32.5 minutes per contest. “That’s an intentional sacrifice by him to give our team the best chance to have the deepest playoff success possible.

“That’s not an easy thing. That’s something that he does so he’s ready to perform at the biggest moments. Give the guy 36, 37, 38 minutes a game, there’s not even a conversation. Obviously you can see I’m very strong (on this) and I believe it.”

Here’s more on the Bucks:

  • In his conversation with Owczarski, Horst also made cases for Bobby Portis as the Sixth Man of the Year and Brook Lopez as the Defensive Player of the Year. “He contests more shots than anybody,” the Bucks’ GM said of Lopez. “His blocks are league-leading. He does it without fouling. … The guy is absolutely deserving of an award this year. I think it all matters. The reason that I think this team has been really good even though we’ve had a lot of other moving parts has been his consistency. He’s an anchor for us and he plays every night. And he’s gotten better. This guy is having a career year. It’s incredible.”
  • A panel of writers at The Athletic – David Aldridge, James L. Edwards III, and Josh Robbins – debated the current Defensive Player of the Year frontrunners and all submitted hypothetical three-man ballots that included two Bucks players. Edwards has Lopez first and Antetokounmpo second in his DPOY rankings, while Aldridge placed Lopez and Giannis second and third and Robbins had Lopez and Holiday as his two runners-up (both Aldridge and Robbins made Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. their current DPOY pick).
  • Antetokounmpo and Lopez were among the players involved in a scuffle during the final seconds of the Bucks’ win over the Kings on Monday night. As Marc J. Spears of ESPN writes, Kings forward Trey Lyles took exception to Giannis dribbling the ball toward him while running out the clock and tried to steal it before shoving Antetokounmpo, resulting in a brief on-court skirmish between the two teams (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report). Lopez and Lyles were both ejected and will likely face additional discipline in the form of fines, if not suspensions. “Giannis could just dribble the ball out,” Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said after the game. “That’s all he had to do, and nothing would have happened.”
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Central Notes: Crowder, Portis, Leonard, Hampton, Boylen

February 25th, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jae Crowder and Bobby Portis have been through some memorable battles over the years, including the 2021 NBA Finals, but they’ve put any animosity behind them since becoming teammates, writes Lori Nickel of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

After Crowder was traded to the Bucks, he called Portis to invite him to work out together during the All-Star break. They joined teammate Joe Ingles for several days of training in Miami.

“Good guy, great guy, got nothing bad to say about him,” Portis said when asked about Crowder. “Sometimes you don’t know with guys because you play against guys all the time – and me and Jae always been the type of guys that kind of got into it. We always kind of bumped heads, but we bumped heads in a good way. We’re kind of similar; we brought intensity to the game, bring a chip on our shoulders.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Meyers Leonard is grateful to be back in the NBA after an absence that lasted nearly two years, per Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel. After signing a 10-day contract with the Bucks this week, Leonard met with the media to talk about the lessons he learned after being suspended for making an antisemitic comment in 2021. “It’s a mixed bag of emotions, for sure,” he said. “It’s certainly the hardest two-year stretch I’ve ever had in my life, as an adult, as a man. The truth is – let’s just cut to it – I made a really big mistake, the biggest mistake of my life. And it was an extremely difficult time because, first of all, just let me say to anybody who’s listening, I’m incredibly sorry. It was an ignorant mistake.”
  • R.J. Hampton played nearly five minutes Saturday afternoon in his debut with the Pistons, even though he hasn’t practiced with the team yet. Hampton signed with Detroit on Thursday after clearing waivers following his buyout with Orlando. “He’s a good defender, but most of all his athleticism and his size at the two guard is something we want to look at,” coach Dwane Casey told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). 
  • Pacers coach Rick Carlisle talked to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files about the contributions of Jim Boylen, who has been serving as a consultant with the team in addition to his coaching duties with USA Basketball.
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Injury Updates: Raptors, Bucks, Blazers, Nuggets

February 23rd, 2023 at 6:54pm CST by Rory Maher

OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Thaddeus Young were all full practice participants on Tuesday evening and head coach Nick Nurse said they looked “good, healthy and ready to go,” on Thursday against New Orleans, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. All three players will indeed play tonight, Lewenberg confirmed on Thursday (via Twitter).

Barring Otto Porter, who is out for the season after foot surgery, the rest of Toronto’s injury report was clean until Fred VanVleet was downgraded to out shortly before tip-off due to personal reasons, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Of the group who are set to return, Anunoby had missed the most time — he’s been out the past nine games with a wrist injury he suffered nearly a month ago.

Here are more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Jae Crowder is set to make his season debut for the Bucks on Friday against Miami, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Crowder, who sat out the entire ’22/23 season while awaiting a trade from Phoenix, was working out with Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles in Miami during the All-Star break, per Nehm. Portis has been out for a month with a sprained knee, but he was able to practice before the break and will return to action on Friday. According to Nehm, head coach Mike Budenholzer was optimistic about Khris Middleton returning Friday as well. The three-time All-Star has been dealing with right knee soreness lately, missing the final game before the break. All three players are list as available on the latest injury report, Nehm tweets.
  • However, things aren’t so positive for Giannis Antetokounmpo (wrist sprain) and Pat Connaughton (left calf soreness), who are both doubtful for Friday’s game, Nehm adds. Giannis is day-to-day, while Connaughton was only a partial practice participant Thursday for the Bucks.
  • Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant are both out for Thursday’s matchup in Sacramento due to rest, the Trail Blazers announced (via Twitter). As Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report explains (via Twitter), the Blazers’ flight out of Portland was delayed for several hours on Wednesday due to a snow storm and finally departed late Thursday afternoon.
  • Nuggets guard Jamal Murray returned to action on Thursday in Cleveland after dealing with knee soreness leading into the break, tweets Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports Radio. Murray had missed the previous six games. Unfortunately, Aaron Gordon remains sidelined with a rib injury, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Head coach Michael Malone said Gordon’s rib issue is “not where I would wish it would be,” according to Singer, who hears from a source (via Twitter) that the rib isn’t fractured, but it’s still limiting Gordon’s effectiveness.
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Central Notes: Crowder, Portis, Dragic, Westbrook, Wiseman

February 13th, 2023 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Newly acquired forward Jae Crowder participated in practice with the Bucks on Monday but he won’t suit up prior to the All-Star break, coach Mike Budenholzer told The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter links).

“He’s going to have a good few days with us before the All-Star break, then take a few days and come back and just evaluate him over the next five, seven, ten days…and hopefully get him integrated and playing after the break,” the Bucks coach said.

Crowder hasn’t played at all this year, as he sat out awaiting a trade. The Bucks acquired him in a three-team deal.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Bobby Portis was able to go through a portion of the Bucks’ practice, Nehm adds in another tweet. “We had a play group at the end of practice and he participated in that, so we’ll see how he feels (Tuesday),” Budenholzer said. “It’s another good step for Bobby.” Portis has been sidelined since Jan. 23 due to a knee injury.
  • Goran Dragic doesn’t feel insulted that the Bulls may be in the buyout market for another point guard, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Dragic knows he can’t play heavy minutes at this stage of his career. “No, it doesn’t offend me, it doesn’t,’’ Dragic said. “At the end of the day you want to win. I’ve got limited minutes so it’s what can I do in those minutes? I know the plus/minus is good, and I know what I can do. Sometimes I feel more involved, sometimes no. But you know, I do think the starting unit needs a point guard, that’s for sure.”
  • On that same topic, The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry weighs the pros and cons of adding Russell Westbrook, if the veteran point guard chooses to take a buyout from the Jazz. Mayberry writes that it would be a desperation move, but one the Bulls might need to make.
  • Now that James Wiseman has officially been traded to the Pistons, can he blossom on a rebuilding team? The Athletic’s James Edwards III and Anthony Slater explore that topic. Slater, who covers Golden State, believes Wiseman will eventually be a productive NBA center offensively but it’s uncertain whether he’ll ever shore up the defensive flaws that kept him out of the Warriors’ rotation.
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Bucks’ Bobby Portis To Miss Time Due To MCL Sprain

January 25th, 2023 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

1:06pm: The expectation is that Portis will be out for at least two weeks before being reevaluated, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

11:28am: The Bucks will be without one of their key frontcourt players for the foreseeable future, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski, who both say that Bobby Portis has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee.

It’s still unclear how long Portis will be unavailable. Charania’s report simply says Portis will “miss time,” while Wojnarowski hears from sources that the Bucks are working on determining a potential recovery timeline.

The recovery period for an MCL injury can vary depending on the severity of the sprain, but it typically keeps players sidelined for a matter of weeks, not days. As Wojnarowski observes, Portis missed seven weeks due to an MCL sprain during the 2018/19 season when he was a Bull. It’s also the injury that’s currently keeping Kevin Durant on the shelf — he’s expected to miss at least a month.

Portis, who suffered the injury during Monday’s win over Detroit, has enjoyed the best run of his eight-year career since joining the Bucks in 2020/21. This season, he’s averaging a double-double for the first time as a pro, registering 14.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per night through his first 47 games (26.8 MPG).

The Bucks got Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton back from injuries earlier this week and will continue to rely on Brook Lopez as their primary center, but suddenly find themselves short on depth in the middle. Veteran big man Serge Ibaka, who would typically move up the depth chart with Portis out, is away from the team as he and the Bucks look to find him a new home via trade.

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21 More NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2023 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Sunday, January 15, which means that nearly two dozen players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is worth more than the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Sunday:

(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton (trade-eligible on Wednesday), and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (trade-eligible on Friday).

There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible before this season’s February 9 deadline, including Lakers star LeBron James. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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