Wesley Matthews Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Middleton, Lopez, Stewart, Bagley, Bey

October 1st, 2022 at 9:33am CST by Dana Gauruder

Khris Middleton won’t be ready to play by opening night as he recovers from wrist surgery. Joe Ingles is still rehabbing from a major knee injury.

So who will step up in their place? Eric Nehm of The Athletic examines potential lineup combinations the Bucks may use in their absence. Pat Connaughton will likely start until Middleton returns, though Jordan Nwora and MarJon Beauchamp will have opportunities to establish themselves as rotation pieces. Wesley Matthews and Grayson Allen will fight for minutes at shooting guard.

We have more from the Central Division:

Middleton has a $40.4MM option on his contract for the 2023/24 season, while center Brook Lopez will be an unrestricted free agent unless he signs an extension. However, there hasn’t been any buzz about it at Bucks camp, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. In fact, Lopez claims that “I wasn’t exactly aware this was a contract year” until the subject was brought up.
Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley may be more suited to playing center but they’ll both see action at times at power forward this season, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. That will allow Nerlens Noel and rookie Jalen Duren to get some minutes off the bench. “It’s tough,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “What’s going to have to manifest itself is – it’s not natural right now – for Isaiah to kind of slide to the four just to open some spots for everybody.”
While most of the attention regarding the Pistons is focused on their young backcourt of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, third-year forward Saddiq Bey has served notice that he could be an offensive force this season, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. “He’s putting the ball on the floor a lot better, finding guys a lot better,” reserve guard Cory Joseph said. “We know how he can score and the attention he’s going to get. He’s making the game better for himself and everyone around him right now. He’s playing really well.”

Contract Details: Monk, Bucks, Edwards, Dort, Jones

July 6th, 2022 at 9:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Malik Monk‘s two-year deal with the Kings is worth approximately $19.42MM in total, with a first-year salary of $9.47MM, Hoops Rumors has learned. While Sacramento used most of the mid-level exception to bring Monk aboard, the team still has $1,017,781 left on the MLE, which is the exact value of the rookie minimum salary.

The Kings didn’t have a second-round pick in this year’s draft, so that leftover mid-level money won’t go to a 2022 draftee. But the club may have it earmarked for a player like Sasha Vezenkov, a 2017 second-rounder whose draft rights were acquired from Cleveland last month. Using that leftover mid-level money, Sacramento could offer Vezenkov – or another player – a minimum-salary deal that exceeds two years.

Here are a few more details on recently-signed contracts from around the NBA:

As expected, Joe Ingles got the full taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.48MM) from the Bucks, while Bobby Portis‘s four-year deal is worth the most he could receive using his Early Bird rights ($48.58MM), Hoops Rumors has learned. Portis’ contract includes a 15% trade kicker and a fourth-year player option.
Wesley Matthews‘ new deal with the Bucks is a one-year, minimum-salary contract, while the team used Jevon Carter‘s Non-Bird rights to give him a first-year salary ($2.1MM) worth a little more than his minimum ($1.97MM). Carter’s second-year player option is for the veteran’s minimum.
Kessler Edwards‘ two-year deal with the Nets, which features a second-year team option, is – as expected – worth the minimum.
Luguentz Dort‘s five-year contract with the Thunder includes a team option in year five and has a total base value of $82.5MM. It can be worth up to $87.5MM if Dort earns $5MM in total unlikely bonuses ($1MM annually), tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Tyus Jones‘ two-year deal with the Grizzlies begins at $15MM and declines to $14MM in 2023/24, per Marks (Twitter link). The deal includes an additional $1MM in unlikely incentives related to the team’s performance, Marks adds.

Bucks Re-Sign Joe Ingles, Wesley Matthews, Jevon Carter

June 30th, 2022 at 6:04pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6, 6:38pm: The Bucks’ deal with Ingles is now official, the team announced in a press release.

“Joe is a proven shot maker who will add great depth to our roster,” general manager Jon Horst said. “He is a terrific person and teammate who will fit in well with our team and community. We’re thrilled to welcome Joe and his family to Milwaukee.”

JULY 6, 2:29pm: The Bucks have issued a press release announcing their new deal with Carter and have also officially re-signed Matthews, per NBA.com’s transactions log. The Ingles signing figures to be formalized very soon.

JUNE 30, 6:04pm: Free agent forward Joe Ingles has agreed to a one-year contract with the Bucks worth $6.5MM, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Ingles’ wife Renae first broke the news on Twitter.

The Bucks have also agreed to bring back a pair of their own free agents, agreeing to a one-year deal with swingman Wesley Matthews and a two-year pact with guard Jevon Carter, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

The $6.5MM salary for Ingles indicates he’ll be getting the team’s taxpayer mid-level exception. Carter’s deal will be worth $4.6MM over two years, with a player option on year two, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That figure suggests Carter may be getting slightly above the veteran’s minimum using his Non-Bird rights.

It’s a somewhat surprising use of Milwaukee’s taxpayer mid-level exception, given that Ingles just underwent surgery on a torn ACL in February. The 34-year-old seems extremely unlikely to be ready to go by the fall and may not get back on the court until 2023. If and when he’s healthy though, he’ll be a nice fit for a Bucks team that could use his ball-handling, shooting, and defensive versatility.

As for Matthews and Carter, they played modest reserve roles for the Bucks in 2021/22, but should be useful depth pieces. Matthews, in particular, had a strong playoff run, starting all 12 of the Bucks’ postseason contests and making 40.0% of his threes.

Bucks Notes: Middleton, Portis, Connaughton, Matthews

May 16th, 2022 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks‘ defense performed relatively well in their second-round series vs. Boston, holding a Celtics team that led the NBA with a 122.6 offensive rating after the All-Star break to a 108.8 mark in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. However, Milwaukee’s own offense struggled — the team ranked third in the league with a 114.3 offensive rating in the regular season, but its 99.7 second-round mark ranked last by a wide margin among the eight remaining clubs.

One reason for Milwaukee’s offensive struggles was Khris Middleton‘s absence due to an MCL sprain. The Bucks were left wondering after Sunday’s Game 7 loss whether they’d be the ones advancing to face Miami in the Eastern Finals if their second-leading scorer had been available vs. Boston.

“Obviously, we weren’t trying to make excuses, ‘We don’t have Khris, and oh, it’s going to be tough for us.’ No, no, no,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said on Sunday, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I think everybody went out there and competed, gave everything they had and that’s what we did from Game 3 against Chicago until Game 7 against Boston. But, if we had him, maybe it would have been a different story. But we didn’t.”

“We could’ve used him,” Jrue Holiday said of Middleton. “We definitely could’ve used him. He makes big shots and big plays on both ends, but especially the offensive end. Yeah, we missed him, but we also want him to be OK for the future, too. Yeah, he’s missed.”

Middleton confirmed on Monday that his MCL injury was a Grade 2 sprain and said it will heal on its own in the offseason without any surgical intervention (Twitter links via Eric Nehm of The Athletic and Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Middleton added that he wanted to play in Games 6 and 7 vs. Boston and didn’t experience any setbacks, but team doctors said the risk was too high for him to return so soon (Twitter link via Owczarski).

Here’s more on the Bucks:

Asked about his upcoming player option decision, Bobby Portis spoke at length about how much he has enjoyed his two years in Milwaukee, but deferred to his agent on his contract situation. “That’s on the organization and my agent to figure that out,” Portis said (Twitter link via Nehm). “I don’t really discuss numbers or contracts or none of that. I love it here. I love being a Buck, but it definitely comes down to them making it work.” The Bucks would have Early Bird rights on Portis, who has certainly outplayed his $4.56MM option.
In his preview of the Bucks’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) takes a closer look at Portis’ free agency, noting that the Bucks could offer him up to about $22.6MM over two years using the Early Bird exception. Marks also explores potential new contracts for Pat Connaughton, who can reach free agency by turning down his player option, and Middleton, who is extension-eligible.
Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype previewed the Bucks’ summer too, examining the upcoming free agent and extension decisions facing the team.
Veteran wing Wesley Matthews told reporters on Monday that he’ll definitely continue his NBA career and would like be back with the Bucks (Twitter link via Owczarski). The 35-year-old said that he hopes not to have to wait until December to sign his next contract, as he did this past season.

Bucks Notes: Hill, Matthews, Horst, Antetokounmpo, Ibaka

May 9th, 2022 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

George Hill returned to action in Game 3 of the Bucks’ series against the Celtics and had no setbacks. The veteran guard is not listed on the injury report for Monday’s game, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Hill, who hadn’t seen action since April 8 due to an abdominal strain, played 11 scoreless minutes with one assist in Game 3.

We have more on the defending champions:

Wesley Matthews‘ excellent defense and the Bucks’ scheme frustrated Jayson Tatum in Game 3. Tatum now has to figure out how to get to his sweet spots more frequently, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Weiss takes an in-depth on the Bucks’ plan against Tatum and how he might counter in Game 4.
Boston fumed about a no-call in the closing seconds of Game 3. Surprisingly, Bucks GM Jon Horst also felt the officiating wasn’t up to par, as he told Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I couldn’t do their job. You couldn’t do their job,” Horst said. “Officiating is hard, just like playing is hard and coaching is hard, and I think we all have a standard of trying to get better and improve. And at the end of the day, that’s what stood out to me. We have to improve. That wasn’t a quality playoff basketball game, and I think officiating played a role in that.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo takes all kinds of punishment and doles it out, too. His teammates marvel at his mental toughness with defenses constantly collapsing on him, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “He’s so good at being mentally strong,” center Brook Lopez said. “He obviously has lots of guys throwing themselves at him when he’s trying to get into his moves and make plays for himself and everyone else. He does a great job of sticking with it, staying in the game, and just keeping his mojo … It can be frustrating at times. He does a great job of just kind of letting it go like water off a duck’s back.”
Serge Ibaka was a late scratch from Monday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, Lily Zhao of FOX6 tweets. Ibaka has made two cameo appearances in the series.

Bucks Notes: Middleton, Holiday, Matthews, Tucker, Hill

May 6th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have confirmed that Khris Middleton will miss Games 3 and 4 of their series with the Celtics, but they’re not speculating about his availability beyond that, according to Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. A report last week indicated that Middleton was likely to be sidelined for the entire second-round series and could be in jeopardy for the conference finals.

“We feel really good about where he is,” coach Mike Budenholzer said after Thursday’s practice. “We continue to hope he makes progress.” Budenholzer responded, “We’ll see,” when asked if Middleton could possibly play against Boston.

Middleton suffered an MCL sprain in his left knee on April 20 during Game 2 of Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series against Chicago. An examination was set for this week to reevaluate his condition and determine when he might be able to return. He averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in two playoff games against the Bulls.

There’s more from Milwaukee:

Jrue Holiday and Wesley Matthews have become the destructive defensive duo they talked about forming nearly five years ago, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. When Holiday was with the Pelicans and became a free agent in the summer of 2017, Matthews tried to convince him to join the Mavericks. However, New Orleans made Holiday a five-year, $150MM offer that was too good to pass up. “It was pretty close,” he said. “But I ended up staying with New Orleans. Money wins.”
In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Heat forward P.J. Tucker says he felt disrespected by the Bucks’ offer after helping the team win an NBA title last season. Tucker added that he loved playing in Milwaukee, but management wasn’t willing to risk going into luxury tax territory to keep him. “For me, it wasn’t even about money,” he said. “It was more about respect because they basically told me to go find an offer and they would match it. After hearing that for me, I’m not coming back even if I had to take less money. To me, that was disrespectful. So, as soon as they said that, I told my agent Andre [Buck], basically, ‘We are moving on, whatever we get out of that, that’s what we’re doing.’”
George Hill is making progress toward returning from an abdominal injury, Nehm tweets. “He’s getting close. We’ll see how he responds to today,” Budenholzer said on Thursday. “He pretty much did all of practice and did some extra, a play group, afterwards. I think we just gotta see how he comes out of that.”

Five More Players Receive Salary Guarantees

January 7th, 2022 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks are hanging onto forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, guaranteeing his salary for the rest of the 2021/22 season, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The decision assures Luwawu-Cabarrot of his full $1,939,350 salary, which counts against Atlanta’s cap for $1,669,178.

After two seasons in Brooklyn, Luwawu-Cabarrot signed a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Hawks in September. He has appeared in 24 games so far, averaging 4.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG on .387/.381/.813 shooting in 13.9 minutes per contest. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022.

Here are more updates on salary guarantees:

According to Scotto (via Twitter), Pacers forward Oshae Brissett has survived today’s salary guarantee deadline and is assured of receiving his $1,701,593 salary. Brissett has emerged as a three-and-D piece in Indiana’s rotation since joining the team last April, registering 8.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG with a .399 3PT% in 49 total games (20.7 MPG) across parts of two seasons. The club holds a $1.85MM option on him for next season.
The Cavaliers are retaining center Ed Davis and guaranteeing his salary, tweets Scotto. Davis isn’t playing much for Cleveland, logging just 112 total minutes across 12 games so far, but he’s considered a strong veteran presence in the locker room. His salary is $2,641,691, while his cap hit is $1,669,178.
The Bucks are guaranteeing Wesley Matthews‘ salary for 2021/22, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Milwaukee decided to move on from DeMarcus Cousins this week, but will hang onto Matthews, who signed a minimum-salary contract with the team last month. Matthews is on the books for a $1,237,494 cap hit and is earning a $1,958,495 salary.
Timberwolves wing Jaylen Nowell has received a rest-of-season guarantee, according to Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods (Twitter link). Nowell, whose $1,782,621 salary and equivalent cap hit are now locked in, is averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 24 games (13.8 MPG) for Minnesota so far this season. The Wolves will have to make a decision this summer on his $1.93MM team option for 2022/23.

Central Notes: Matthews, DiVincenzo, Olynyk, Rondo

January 5th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran Bucks reserve shooting guard Wesley Matthews is making the most of his second stint in Milwaukee, writes Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Madison, Wisconsin native, a Marquette alum, made it clear that he wanted to return to the reigning champs. In 11 contests with the Bucks, the 35-year-old wing is averaging 5.6 PPG on a .511/.419/600 shooting line across 16.6 MPG.

“This is what I wanted, this is where I wanted to be,” Matthews said of his Bucks reunion. “I knew in my heart this is where I wanted to be and I felt that from the team, from the organization top-down and now we’re here and I can’t be more excited and happy for it.”

Matthews joined the Bucks on a non-guaranteed contract last month. The team will have to make a decision on whether to keep him around for the rest of the year by the league’s Friday deadline.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Just three games into his return from ankle surgery during the 2021 postseason, Bucks shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo suffered a mild ankle injury. He has already resumed on-court workouts, and Milwaukee will have a better sense of a timeline for his return to action next week, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Playing 16.7 MPG in his three games this season, the 6’4″ wing out of Villanova is averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.7 RPG for the Bucks.
Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk, who has been out for Detroit since suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain two months ago, has begun working out at the team’s practice facility, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Beard adds that the Pistons do not yet have a timeline for Olynyk’s return to game action.
New Cavaliers point guard Rajon Rondo is hoping to have a bigger role in Cleveland than he did with his most recent club, the Lakers, writes Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “I’ve always been the underdog my entire career,” Rondo said. “I love the expectations of being ‘done’ or not expected to do things. That’s what I kind of pride myself on, doing the impossible and doing the unthinkable. This group has the talent to do it. I’m looking forward to making some noise.” In 16.1 MPG across 18 games for the Lakers this season, the 35-year-old veteran point guard averaged just 3.1 PPG, 3.7 APG and 2.7 RPG.

Central Notes: Cavs, Matthews, Kalamian, McKinnie

December 22nd, 2021 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the HoopsHype Podcast alongside Michael Scotto, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said he believes the Cavaliers will look to be buyers at this season’s trade deadline, and could be open to surrendering their 2022 first-round pick, which may not end up in the lottery as initially anticipated.

Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Terrence Ross are among the players who could appeal to the Cavaliers, per Fedor, though some of those players may be more attainable than others. While LeVert and Ross are believed to be available, I’d be surprised if Brooklyn parts with Harris.

Fedor also addressed several more topics during his conversation with Scotto, suggesting that Ricky Rubio has become more likely to be extended than traded and noting that the Cavaliers are comfortable going into restricted free agency with Collin Sexton. Cleveland recognizes that only a handful of teams will have cap room available in 2022 and is skeptical that any of those clubs will make it a top priority to pry away Sexton from the Cavs, Fedor explains.

Here are a few more notes from around the Central:

Bucks wing Wesley Matthews is no longer listed in the health and safety protocols, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Milwaukee still has three players in the protocols, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Rex Kalamian, who has been an NBA assistant coach for 28 years, got a chance to serve as the Pistons‘ acting head coach on two occasions in the past week – including on Tuesday – when Dwane Casey was away from the team for personal reasons. As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic details, Kalamian appreciates the opportunity, but remains happy in his role as an assistant. “As an assistant coach, you do a lot more development with the players than the head coach,” he said. “The head coaches are not nearly as involved with the day-to-day development of players. But as an assistant, that’s something that has always been fun for me and a challenge to step in and get on the court every day with players.”
Carving out a role with the Bulls has been a “dream come true” for Alfonzo McKinnie, who is currently on his second 10-day contract with his hometown team. “I’m a West Side kid. I grew up like 10, 15 minutes down the way,” McKinnie said on Monday, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “House was a Bulls house. Watched the Bulls growing up. So just being able to compete on the highest stage in my hometown, on my favorite side of the city, the West Side, it’s been surreal to be honest. Just putting that jersey on has been everything for me.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo Enters Coronavirus Protocols

December 14th, 2021 at 6:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss at least Milwaukee’s next game, against the Pacers on Wednesday night, after entering the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter). The Bucks announced the news in their latest injury report.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP, Antetokounmpo joins injured fellow Bucks starters Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s game, per Agness.Figuratively, of course, since Antetokounmpo will be quarantining in isolation until he records two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart or 10 days have elapsed since he recorded his first positive test result.

Milwaukee role players Wesley Matthews, Semi Ojeleye and DeMarcus Cousins are also listed as unavailable for the Bucks, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Adrian Wojnarowski reveals (Twitter link) that Matthews has also entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, and that the Bucks are continuing to test the rest of the team.

Antetokounmpo has enjoyed another stellar 2021/22 season to this point. The 6’11” forward is averaging 27.0 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 5.8 APG across 26 contests. The team has weathered plenty of injury issues already and still boasts the third-best record in the East with an 18-11 season mark. Should Milwaukee miss Antetokounmpo for the next 10 days, and should Middleton’s knee injury linger, the Bucks could struggle in the short-term.

Antetokounmpo is just the latest All-Star-caliber player to enter the league’s coronavirus protocols this evening, after news broke earlier tonight that Brooklyn guard James Harden would join six other Nets in that team’s COVID-19 protocols. For the Bulls, guard Zach LaVine and probable 2022 All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan are among the 10 Chicago players currently unavailable due to recording positive coronavirus tests. Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, performing well enough to earn his first All-Star berth this season, has been in COVID-19 protocols for nearly a week.