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The Bucks Players Who Benefited Most From NBA Cup Prize Money

December 18th, 2024 at 7:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks‘ team salary this season is approximately $193MM, which is over the second tax apron and far exceeds the $160.4MM on the Thunder‘s books.

However, only two players on Oklahoma City’s roster are on minimum-salary contracts and just three of 15 Thunder players on standard deals are earning less than $3MM this season. By comparison, Milwaukee has eight players with salaries below $3MM, plus a ninth earning just a hair above $3MM. Seven of those nine players are earning their respective minimums.

While the $514,970 bonus for winning the NBA Cup may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, it represents a significant pay raise for the players on the lower two-thirds of Milwaukee’s cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $257,485 apiece.

The NBA Cup prize money results in at least a 17% raise for each of the following Bucks players, whose 2024/25 salaries are noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $514,970 bonus:

Delon Wright ($3,003,427)
Taurean Prince ($2,988,550)
AJ Johnson ($2,795,294)
MarJon Beauchamp ($2,733,720)
Gary Trent Jr. ($2,613,120)
A.J. Green ($2,120,693)
Andre Jackson ($1,891,857)
Chris Livingston ($1,891,857)
Tyler Smith ($1,157,153)

Players receiving a $257,485 bonus:

Liam Robbins ($578,577)
Ryan Rollins ($578,577)
Stanley Umude ($578,577)

The bonuses for Smith and the Bucks’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.5% on their respective base salaries.

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Bucks’ team salary for cap, tax, and apron purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Oklahoma City and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST. Their prize money is as follows:

Oklahoma City Thunder: $205,988 per player ($102,994 for two-way players)
Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets: $102,994 per player ($51,497 for two-ways)
Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic: $51,497 per player ($25,749 for two-ways)

Bucks Give Robbins Two-Way Deal, Cut Pasecniks

October 19th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:53pm: Robbins’ two-way contract is now official, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

1:52pm: The Bucks are making a change to their two-way players ahead of the regular season, with Shams Charania of ESPN reporting (via Twitter) that the team has decided to convert Liam Robbins‘ Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal while waiving big man Anzejs Pasecniks.

Robbins, a seven-foot center who played his college ball at Vanderbilt, was born in Wisconsin and grew up a Bucks fan, so he’ll be sticking with his hometown team after a solid preseason in which he averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 11.7 minutes per game across four outings.

Robbins missed part of his final college season in 2022/23 with a right leg fracture, which required surgery. A second surgical procedure was required this past January due to an issue with a plate that was inserted in his leg. But after a lost rookie season, he said this fall that he’s fully healthy and has no limitations.

A first-round pick in the 2017 draft, Pasecniks has only appeared in 28 total NBA regular season games – all with the Wizards – and has spent the past three seasons in Europe, playing for Real Betis (Spain), Metropolitans 92 (France) and Palencia (Spain). It remains to be seen whether he’ll head back overseas or if he’ll remain stateside and look to earn a shot with another NBA team.

Robbins joins Ryan Rollins and Stanley Umude as Milwaukee’s two-way players.

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Portis, Johnson, Robbins, Buckner

October 11th, 2024 at 6:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was dominant in his preseason debut on Thursday vs. the Lakers, observes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. As Nehm writes, Antetokounmpo sat out Milwaukee’s preseason opener on Sunday, so Thursday marked his first NBA action since he injured his left calf in April, prematurely ending his 2023/24 season.

The two-time MVP was back to normal Thursday, recording 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes. One of those blocks — a chase-down of LeBron James — made the highlight reels. It was an encouraging sign for Milwaukee, which has had disappointing first-round playoff exits in each of the past two seasons, in part due to Antetokounmpo’s untimely injuries.

Here’s more on the Bucks:

Big man Bobby Portis continued to his scorching-hot shooting Thursday, Nehm notes. Portis, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year for the second straight season in ’23/24, has scored 39 points in 28 preseason minutes, including 9-of-10 from three-point range. “My biggest thing this summer was to get in the gym and just work,” Portis said as part of a larger quote. “I worked every f—ing day of my life this summer, like a madman, bro. I just want my work to show on the court. So hopefully, it just translates in preseason. But I’m just playing with confidence and going out there and being who I am. I put a lot of work into my craft.”
Rookie guard AJ Johnson struggled in his preseason debut Sunday vs. Detroit, but he played with a much better rhythm Thursday, Nehm adds in the same story. “The biggest thing with him, man, is just trying to tell him just to slow down,” Portis said of Johnson. “Obviously, when you first get into the league, you’re kind of playing ultra-fast and you don’t know that the game can be just slow. It takes some minutes to find your rhythm, find your pace on how you want to play it at your speed. Everybody has their own speed on the court, right? So I think his biggest thing is trying to find the speed that he needs to play at to be effective and to be a pro.”
Center Liam Robbins, who was born in Wisconsin and grew up a Bucks fan, missed part of his final college season with a right leg fracture, which required surgery. A second surgery was needed in January after an issue with a plate that was inserted in his leg, but he says he’s fully healthy now and has no limitations, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “(Sunday) was my first game in like a year and a half so to get back out there, I definitely had a little bit of nerves getting back out there,” Robbins said. “I was really excited. Obviously not perfect by any means but just to get back out there and have the opportunity, just very grateful and count my blessings for sure.” Robbins, who has recorded five blocks in 22 preseason minutes, is on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Bucks.
Nehm of The Athletic details how head coach Doc Rivers recruited assistant Greg Buckner over the summer to spearhead Milwaukee’s defense. Buckner, who played 10 NBA seasons with five different teams from 1999-2009, has spent the past four seasons as an assistant with Cleveland, but Rivers pounced on the opportunity to speak to him when the Cavs fired J.B. Bickerstaff, Buckner’s close friend. The Bucks finished just 19th in the league in defensive rating last season, but they’re hoping Buckner will help turn that number around.

And-Ones: G League Trades, Charania, Breakout Candidates, More

October 8th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of teams have acquired the G League rights for players who are in camp with them on Exhibit 10 contracts.

The Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) sent Marquese Chriss‘ rights and a 2025 first-round pick to the Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans) in exchange for Liam Robbins‘ rights (Twitter link), while the Raptors 905 are receiving Jared Rhoden‘s rights from the College Park Skyhawks (Hawks) in exchange for the rights to Omari Moore and a 2025 first-rounder (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet).

Robbins is currently on Milwaukee’s preseason roster, while Rhoden is under contract with Toronto.

In other G League trade news, the Austin Spurs announced (via Twitter) that they’ve sent the returning rights for Yauhen Massalski to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, while the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers) acquired Elijah Hughes‘ rights from the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) in exchange for the rights to Sam Merrill and a 2025 second-rounder.

Trading away Merrill’s returning rights won’t mean anything for the Cavaliers as long as he remains on Cleveland’s NBA roster, but if he were to be waived down the road, the Bucks’ affiliate would have first dibs on him as a G Leaguer.

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

Shams Charania, who has spent the past few years with The Athletic, is making the move to ESPN to replace Adrian Wojnarowski as the network’s senior NBA insider, Charania announced on Twitter. Recent reporting suggested that ESPN news-breakers currently covering other sports – including Jeff Passan (MLB) or Adam Schefter (NFL) – were among the candidates being considered to replace Wojnarowski, but Charania was always the more logical choice, given his lengthy history of major NBA scoops.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN, Jeremy Woo identifies 11 players he believes are prime breakout candidates in 2024/25. Woo’s 11 candidates fall into four groups: players who could make the leap to an All-Star level, such as Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley; players who could ascend to borderline All-Stars, like Hawks forward Jalen Johnson; players who will benefit from taking on larger roles, including Bulls guard Josh Giddey; and role players who could make bigger impacts, such as Kings guard Keon Ellis.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports predicts the 10 players most likely to be traded in 2024/25, ranging from big names like Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine to role players such as Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas. Three of the players in Helin’s top 10 – Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Cameron Johnson – are currently members of the Nets.

Bucks Sign James Akinjo, Liam Robbins To Exhibit 10 Deals

August 27th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bucks have signed guard James Akinjo and center Liam Robbins, the team announced today in a press release. Both players received Exhibit 10 contracts, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link).

Both Akinjo and Robbins have previously spent time with other teams on training camp contracts but haven’t yet seen regular season NBA action.

Akinjo is a 6’1″ guard out of Baylor who has signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Knicks and Kings, as well as previously spending summer league with the Hawks. He played this summer for the Bucks, appearing in two games and totaling four points in Las Vegas.

Akinjo has played more extensively at the G League level. In 2022/23 with the Westchester Knicks, Akinjo averaged 14.7 points and 7.8 assists per game while making 37.4% of his threes. Last season, he split time between the Stockton Kings and Wisconsin Herd, averaging 9.6 PPG and 4.2 APG in 31 G League appearances.

Robbins, a 7’0″ center from Vanderbilt, signed with the Pelicans on an Exhibit 10 deal last summer but suffered a stress reaction in his fibula and was waived. Before the injury, he seemed like a prime candidate to compete for a two-way contract. He had an impressive final college season at Vanderbilt, averaging 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks while shooting 36.5% from three.

Robbins still ended up being allocated to the Birmingham Squadron but was deactivated in January without playing a game in the G League due to his injury.

The Bucks have all three of their two-way contract spots filled, so Akinjo and Robbins will have an uphill climb to make Milwaukee’s roster. By signing Exhibit 10 deals, Akinjo and Robbins will receive bonuses worth up to $77.5K on top of their standard G League salaries as long as they spend at least 60 days with the Herd after being waived by the Bucks.

Milwaukee now has 20 players officially under contract, with Philip Alston also reported to be joining the team on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Pelicans Sign Jalen Crutcher, Waive Liam Robbins

October 12th, 2023 at 11:42am CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have made a minor change to their preseason roster, signing free agent guard Jalen Crutcher, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans waived Liam Robbins to create a roster opening for Crutcher.

A former college standout at Dayton, Crutcher played four years for the Flyers prior to going undrafted in 2021. He has spent his first two professional seasons playing in the G League for the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — after signing Exhibit 10 deals with and then being waived by the Hornets.

A 6’2″ point guard, Crutcher appeared in 57 regular season games (39 starts, 32.7 MPG) with the Swarm from 2021-23, averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.8 APG and 3.0 RPG with an impressive .473/.430/.774 shooting slash line.

The Birmingham Squadron — the Pelicans’ NBAGL affiliate — acquired Crutcher’s returning player rights last month in a deal with the Swarm. That means the 24-year-old likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New Orleans, which would entitle him to a $75K bonus if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Squadron.

Robbins, a 7’0″ big man who went undrafted in June out of Vanderbilt, inked an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans at the end of last month. It looked like he might be promoted to a two-way contract, but last week he unfortunately sustained a stress fracture in his right fibula and was ruled out indefinitely.

Pelicans Notes: Ingram, Daniels, Zion, Robbins

October 5th, 2023 at 9:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Without a true point guard in the starting lineup, the Pelicans are planning to lean on Brandon Ingram more as a primary play-maker in the 2023/24 season, Christian Clark of NOLA.com writes. Ingram had a career average of 3.8 assists per game prior to last season, when he averaged 5.8 APG across 45 appearances.

Clark writes that the Pelicans were impressed by Ingram’s growth as a play-maker last year. He didn’t have a triple-double in the first six seasons of his career, but wound up having two in an eight-day span in March. In the final 25 games of the season, he averaged 6.5 assists per night.

“You can put the ball in his hands, and he makes great decisions,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Finding his teammates. Then his ability to score. We want to explore that more this season.”

Pelicans guard CJ McCollum isn’t a true point guard, but has been playing in that role for New Orleans since his arrival. Like Ingram, McCollum has had career-high assist numbers in New Orleans, averaging 5.8 APG as a Pelican. However, New Orleans missed the playoffs last season and could be looking to switch things up.

“With [Ingram] having the ball in his hands and [Zion Williamson] running into a screen, what is the defense going to do?” Green said. “Vice versa. If [Williamson] has the ball, here comes [Ingram]. Here comes [McCollum]. We are playing around with different ways we can attack.”

We have more on the Pelicans:

Heading into his second season in the league, Dyson Daniels wants to become one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, Clark writes in a separate story. Daniels was respectable in his rookie year in that regard, with Clark noting that he guarded some of the league’s premier ball-handlers at a high level at times. Clark adds that the 6’8″ guard is poised to become a major rotation piece, but the key for him to do so is to grow on the offensive end. “We know Dyson is solid defensively,” Green said. “Now, it’s just about creating an offensive identity. And being a solid basketball player for us. We know he can do it.“
In an interview with Green posted to the Pelicans’ Twitter account, the coach said that the Pelicans will look to use Williamson at the center position more this season, as ESPN’s Andrew Lopez observes (Twitter link). The Pelicans averaged 1.16 points per chance when Williamson acted as the team’s screener last season, according to Lopez, which ranked top five among players with 150 screens or more.
Center Liam Robbins was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right fibula, according to a release from the team. There is no current timetable for his return. The Pelicans signed Robbins to an Exhibit 10 deal this offseason and, with one open two-way contract slot, it looked like the Vanderbilt product was primed to compete for one of those spots. Now, the injury makes it an uphill battle. However, if Robbins is waived, he’ll be eligible for a $75K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Pelicans Sign Malcolm Hill, Four Others

September 30th, 2023 at 9:11am CST by Tristan Tucker

9:11am: The Pelicans announced the signings of Hill, Jones, Jemison and Robbins, along with Nolley.

New Orleans also confirmed the signing of Kaiser Gates to a two-way contract, which became official earlier in the week. The Pelicans’ offseason roster now stands at 21.

8:18am: The Pelicans have officially signed Malcolm Hill, Tevian Jones, Trey Jemison and Liam Robbins, according to RealGM’s transaction log. We previously wrote that New Orleans had agreed to sign Jones, Jemison and Robbins, but the Hill signing hadn’t been covered.

Hill, 27, has 24 games of NBA experience across stints with the Hawks and Bulls holding averages of 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds. Most recently, Hill spent time with Chicago on a two-way contract, but was waived in February.

A product of Illinois, Hill has received more extensive playing time in the G League. In 32 regular season and Showcase Cup appearances last season with the Windy City Bulls (Chicago’s affiliate) and Birmingham Squadron (New Orleans’ affiliate), Hill averaged 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

It was reported in August that Jemison would be receiving an Exhibit 10 contract, and it’s likely safe to assume that’s the type of deal Hill, Jones and Robbins received from the Pelicans as well. If that’s indeed the case, all four players would be eligible for a bonus of up to $75K if they are waived by the Pelicans before the season begins and spend at least 60 days with Birmingham.

The signings of all four players brings New Orleans to 20 players under contract, one short of the offseason maximum. New Orleans has 14 players on standard contracts and two players signed to two-way deals. However, New Orleans is a bit over the tax and isn’t likely looking to keep a 15th standard player on the opening night roster in case they can duck under the tax. That means filling out the final open two-way spot is likely their primary goal, and one of these players could fill that spot.

It’s important to note that Landers Nolley was also reported to be joining New Orleans, but that deal has yet to be made official. It’s possible Nolley will fill the 21st and final spot on the team’s offseason roster.

Pelicans To Sign Kaiser Gates To Two-Way Contract

September 22nd, 2023 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Kaiser Gates to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Gates, who went undrafted out of Xavier in 2018, spent one season (2021/22) in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem but has otherwise been playing in the G League since going pro, enjoying stints with Windy City, Maine, and Long Island.

In 40 total appearances in the NBAGL regular season and Showcase Cup for the Long Island Nets last season, the 26-year-old averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .473/.468/.674.

The Pelicans still have several openings on their 21-man offseason roster and had been the only NBA team with multiple two-way slots available, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move to clear room for Gates.

Once Gates’ deal is official, New Orleans will be able to add one more two-way player to join him and Dereon Seabron. Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) says he’d be surprised if rookie big man Liam Robbins – who reached a deal with the Pelicans in June – doesn’t end up filling that opening.

Pelicans To Sign Landers Nolley, Tevian Jones, Liam Robbins

June 23rd, 2023 at 10:33am CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans are signing a trio of undrafted players, according to reports from Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com and Michael Scotto of Hoopshype (All Twitter links). The three prospects are Cincinnati guard Landers Nolley II, Southern Utah wing Tevian Jones and Vanderbilt big man Liam Robbins.

The terms of the contracts were not disclosed, so it’s unclear if they might be two-way deals or Exhibit 10 training camp contracts, the latter of which would put the players in line for a bonus worth up to $75K if they’re waived and spend up to 60 days with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

All three prospects are on ESPN’s best undrafted players list. Robbins is No. 16, Nolley is No. 23 and Jones is No. 30.

Robbins, who played for Drake and Minnesota prior to finishing out his career at Vanderbilt, was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in ’22/23, averaging 15.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 3.2 BPG on .504/.365/.731 shooting for the Commodores. He managed to put up those numbers in just 23.0 minutes per contest over 26 games, including 15 starts.

Nolley played for Virginia Tech and Memphis before transferring to Cincinnati for his senior season in 2022/23, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.0 SPG on .447/.417/.750 shooting in 36 games (32.1 MPG) for the Bearcats.

Jones started his college career at Illinois before transferring to Southern Utah. As a “super senior” in ’22/23, he averaged 17.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .407/.362/.840 shooting in 36 games (33.8 MPG) for the Thunderbirds. Chepkevich states that Jones impressed during the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is used as a springboard for lesser-known prospects.