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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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Central Notes: McConnell, Theis, Bogdanovic, Bucks

January 10th, 2023 at 7:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers guard T.J. McConnell took a hit to his right shoulder on Sunday but an MRI showed the shoulder was “stable” and he was able to practice on Tuesday, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star reports.

“I think it was one of those weird plays where I just got hit in a bad spot,” McConnell said. “I was a little worried at the beginning and it was really painful, but our training staff is awesome, they worked on it. They said it was stable and the MRI showed that there was nothing seriously wrong. So it’s just about playing through the pain right now knowing it’s good, it’s stable. I said that I missed enough games last year, I can play through a little bit of pain.”

McConnell is in the second season of a four-year, $33.6MM contract.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Daniel Theis is showing progress from his latest knee surgery in November and he could make his Pacers debut in the coming weeks, Dopirak notes in the same story. Theis was acquired from the Celtics in July as part of the package Boston gave up for point guard Malcolm Brogdon. “I don’t know that there’s any real set, hard timetable on Theis’ availability to play in a game but he’s weeks, not months away,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s good news.”
  • As if the Pistons didn’t have enough injury issues, leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic missed Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia due to left calf soreness, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News tweets. Rookie center Jalen Duren missed his second straight game due to right ankle soreness and Isaiah Stewart (shoulder) was a late scratch.
  • The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski breaks downs the Bucks’ cap situation, key dates and luxury tax implications of any moves they might make before the trade deadline. He notes that Jordan Nwora and Bobby Portis will be eligible to be traded as of Jan. 15, while Pat Connaughton becomes eligible to be moved on Jan. 18.
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And-Ones: Award Frontrunners, Possible Tankers, Trade Market

December 15th, 2022 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the choice for Most Valuable Player one-third of the way through the 2022/23 NBA season, Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com argues in an early-season award ballot. Tatum is averaging over 30 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game with terrific shooting numbers and is a candidate for an All-Defensive spot on the other end of the floor, according to Duncan, who contends that doing all that for the NBA’s best team makes the MVP award Tatum’s to lose.

Duncan also checks in on the NBA’s other award races, selecting Bucks center Brook Lopez as the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, Magic forward Paolo Banchero as the early Rookie of the Year frontrunner, and Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis as his Sixth Man of the Year choice, among others.

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

  • Which teams should be throwing in the towel on 2022/23 and focusing on next year’s draft? John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down the potential tankers, ranging from the “pull the plug already” group (the Pistons and Hornets) to the “one injury away” tier, which includes playoff hopefuls like the Heat, Mavericks, and Raptors.
  • A panel of SI.com basketball writers – including Howard Beck, Chris Mannix, and Chris Herring – prepared for NBA trade season by identifying a player they expect to be moved, picking an intriguing team to watch, and naming a trade they’d like to see happen this season. Three of the five panelists pointed to a Bradley Beal deal as one they’re hoping for, even if it’s probably unlikely in the first season of his five-year contract with the Wizards.
  • Michael Pina of The Ringer poses and explores nine questions related to the trade market, including whether the league-wide parity we’ve seen so far this season will catalyze or stifle negotiations. Like those SI.com writers, Pina would welcome some action on the Beal front, referring to the union between the All-Star guard and the Wizards as “the most frustrating dead-end relationship in the entire NBA.”
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Central Notes: Ball, Portis, Walton, Pacers

July 13th, 2022 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Echoing Billy Donovan‘s update on Sunday, Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said that Lonzo Ball is “progressing” from his left knee injury. However, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, Karnisovas’ comments on Ball were somewhat sobering.

“He’s getting better. Probably not at the speed that we would like. But he’s getting better,” Karnisovas said of Ball. “Hopefully, he’s going to be ready for training camp. That’s just our hopes.”

Ball, who underwent surgery on a torn left meniscus in January, was bothered by a bone bruise when he attempted to ramp up his rehab process last season. According to Johnson, Ball has experienced “similar starts and stops” this offseason and still sometimes experiences discomfort when he increases his workload.

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • After years of betting on himself with shorter-term contracts and team-friendly salaries, Bucks big man Bobby Portis was thrilled to be rewarded in free agency this summer with a four-year, $48MM+ deal, as he tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Finally being able to have financial security for not only myself, but my family, is great,” Portis said. “To be able to go into free agency and have a number of teams call and believe that I’m special and want me to join their team, that was cool too.” Portis added that he decided to re-sign with the Bucks in part because his two years in Milwaukee have made him not only a better player but a “better man off the court.”
  • New Cavaliers assistant Luke Walton spoke to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic about his decision to join J.B. Bickerstaff‘s staff in Cleveland, noting that he appreciates the level of continuity he sees in the franchise. “There’s a lot of people that are still working here that were here when I played here 10 years ago – which is rare in the NBA,” Walton said. “To me, it’s something that’s very important when you’re trying to build a winning team and a winning culture.”
  • We’re still waiting to see how Deandre Ayton‘s free agency will play out, but the Pacers make a lot of sense as a potential destination for the former top pick, according to Dan Devine of The Ringer. Adding Ayton would give Tyrese Haliburton an ideal pick-and-roll partner and would put Indiana on track to quickly pivot back to respectability, Devine writes.
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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.
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