RealGM Basketball Wiretap

22 October 2024

• Giannis Antetokounmpo's Commitment To Bucks Being Monitored By Rival Teams

  The future of Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks is one of the most critical things being monitored by rival teams. Antetokounmpo committed to the Bucks with an extension entering the 23-24 season following their trade for Damian Lillard. Antetokounmpo didn't play during the Bucks' first round exit to the Indiana Pacers last year.

  "They are very closely monitoring how this situation goes in Milwaukee," said Shams Charania on First Take. "How he looks. How he plays."

  "These are the conversations Shams and I have when we talk to people in the league," said Brian Windhorst. "When Shams and I are talking to people in the league, this is what they're talking about. They're talking about what's going to happen with Giannis. What's going to happen with the Bucks. How are the Bucks going to be this year? Are they going to be good enough where Giannis is going to stay committed?"

  Antetokounmpo cannot become a free agent until 2017.

• Bucks Convert Liam Robbins To Two-Way Contract; Waive Anzejs Pasecņiks, James Akinjo

  The Milwaukee Bucks have converted center Liam Robbins to a Two-Way contract. The Bucks also requested waivers on center Anzejs Pasecņiks and guard James Akinjo.

  Robbins, a 7-0, 250-pound rookie, appeared in all four of Milwaukee's preseason games (one start) while on an Exhibit 10 contract with the team and averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11.7 minutes per game. The 2023 SEC Defensive Player of the Year last played at Vanderbilt during the 2022-23 season where he saw action in 26 games (15 starts) and averaged 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game. A native of Waukesha, Robbins went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft after five collegiate seasons with Vanderbilt, Minnesota and Drake.

  While on a Two-Way contract with the Bucks, Pasečņiks appeared in four preseason games and averaged 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 13.3 minutes per game while shooting 52.2% from the field. The Latvian native played 28 minutes in Milwaukee's final preseason game, the second-most on the Bucks, scoring 11 points and hauling in eight rebounds.

  Akinjo appeared in one preseason game with the Bucks while on an Exhibit 10 contract, totaling one rebound and one assist in five minutes of action.

• Khris Middleton To Miss Start Of Regular Season

  Khris Middleton will miss the start of the regular season as he continues to rehab from a pair of offseason ankle surgeries. Middleton did not appear in any preseason games and hasn't been cleared to participate in the Milwaukee Bucks' 5-on-5 scrimmages at practice.

  Middleton sprained his left ankle in a Feb. 6 game against the Phoenix Suns after he landed on Kevin Durant's foot following a jump shot. Middleton then missed the next 16 games with the injury.

  Middleton has only appeared in 88 regular season games during the past two seasons. Middleton also missed the Bucks' 2022 playoffs.

  Taurean Prince is expected to start in place of Middleton.

• Bucks Waive Jalen Lewis

  The Milwaukee Bucks waived big man Jalen Lewis. The Bucks had signed Lewis to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract.

  Lewis is expected to join the Wisconsin Herd for the upcoming G League season.

• Bucks Sign, Waive Justise Winslow, Henry Ellenson

  The Milwaukee Bucks signed then waived Justise Winslow on Thursday.

  Winslow played last season with the Raptors 905 in the G League.

  The team also waived Henry Ellenson after signing him earlier in the day.

• Bucks Sign Henry Ellenson; Waive James Akinjo

  The Milwaukee Bucks have signed big man Henry Ellenson to an Exhibit 10 contract. Milwaukee also waived guard James Akinjo. The Bucks had signed Akinjo to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract earlier this offseason.

  Ellenson is a veteran of five NBA seasons. He's played for the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors. Ellenson spent the last two seasons playing for teams in the Spanish ACB League.

  Both Akinjo and Ellenson are expected to play for the Wisconsin Heard in the upcoming G League season.

• Bucks Waive Terence Davis

  The Milwaukee Bucks waived Terence Davis on Tuesday, league sources told Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

  The team signed Davis to an Exhibit 10 deal earlier this month.

  The Wisconsin Herd had perviously acquired Davis' returning player rights.

• Bradley Beal Discusses Bucks' Pursuit Of Trade For Him In 2023

  Bradley Beal talked in detail about his perspective on his trade from the Washington Wizards to the Phoenix Suns in June 2023 with the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat also in play at the time.

  "First off, Phoenix wasn't really in the picture for me to go to. It wasn't," Beal said on the Run Your Race podcast with Theo Pinson. "That was a fly ball that came out... I'm in left field. I'm waiting on Miami to give me a grounder, Milwaukee. Those were kind of my two. Miami didn't want to do it for whatever reason, didn't know why. Milwaukee I was like - I was straddling the fence."

  Beal revealed that Khris Middleton would have been sent by the Bucks to the Wizards, but it would have required the participation of the Milwaukee veteran to exercise his player option.

  "I don't know many people who are going to opt in, get traded to D.C.," Beal said. "The loyalty part in that, like, trading somebody who won y'all a championship the previous year, who was a key piece to winning a championship, it didn't sit right for me.

  "We competitors. I can fill that role very nicely. (But) I didn't like that. I didn't like the look."

  Middleton re-signed with the Bucks as a free agent in the 2023 offseason on a three-year, $102 million deal.

• Rajon Rondo Joins Bucks As Guest Coach

  Rajon Rondo is in camp with the Milwaukee Bucks as a guest coach, which is a role he is expected to play throughout the 24-25 season.

  Rondo retired from his playing career this past April and was soon recruited by Doc Rivers to join the coaching ranks.

  "There's a lot of factors that go into coaching," Rondo said. "You just can't say, I'm going to be a coach, and then everything works out and that's how it happens. So certain personalities have to mesh, [and there's] a lot of sacrifice. There are certain things that I'm learning. The morning meetings, the amount of hours you're spending watching film, it's a lot."

  Rondo said he doesn't have an exact path in mind.

  "You see people go from not coaching to head-coaching jobs all the time," he said. "A lot of people go straight to becoming assistant coaches. So there's just no path. I just want to seek as much information as possible."

  "He's the smartest player I've ever coached -- and not just smart," Rivers told ESPN. "He knows when to and when not to say stuff. He's a great team builder. It's just fun, and it's great to have him around."

  Rivers is reminded of his own journey from playing to coaching.

  "I just think there's certain guys that should be a coach," Rivers said. "It's funny, I never thought I was going to coach, and Pat Riley told me I'm coaching. I said, 'No, I'm going to do TV.' He said, 'You'll be a coach' and Pat Riley never relented. And when I did TV those first three years, he would send texts or letters like, 'Get your f---ing ass on the sideline.' And I feel the same way [with Rondo]."

• Terence Davis, Bucks Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

  The Milwaukee Bucks and guard Terence Davis have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract. Davis will join the Bucks for the preseason, before likely playing for the Wisconsin Herd of the G League.

  Davis appeared in seven games for the Rip City Remix of the G League last season. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game. Davis has previously played for the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings in the NBA.