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Bucks exercise contract options

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Michael Carter-Williams

Michael Carter-Williams

The Milwaukee Bucks have exercised contract options on four young players on Monday.

Forward Jabari Parker and guard Tyler Ennis now have third-year rookie deals with the Bucks.  General manager John Hammond also picked up fourth-year contract options on forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Michael Carter-Williams.

The 24-year-old Carter-Williams averaged 15 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 66 games last season with Philadelphia and Milwaukee.  Antetokounmpo averaged 13 points and seven boards in his second year with the Bucks.  The 20-year-old Parker missed most of his rookie year with a knee injury.  He averaged 12 points and six rebounds in 25 games.  Ennis was traded from Phoenix in February, with four points and two assists in limited time off the bench.

The Bucks are about to open the regular season on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Bucks sign Henson to contract extension

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Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee Bucks

Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee Bucks

As the Milwaukee Bucks get ready to leave Madison and take their training camp back to Milwaukee, the team announced the signing of center/forward John Henson to a four-year contract extension worth $44 million.

The deal could climb as high as $48 million over the four years if Henson meets incentive clauses.

Earlier this summer, general manager John Hammond identified Henson as one of six core players for the franchise.  The deal shows Henson’s commitment to being a part of the Bucks future plan.

At 24-years of age, Henson has primarily come off the bench for the Bucks, starting only 43 games in 200 appearances.  He averaged 7.0 points and 4.7 rebounds last season but his numbers climbed to 8.8 and 8.0 in the playoff series against the Bulls.

Henson blocked at least one shot in a 20-game stretch last season and finished fifth in the N-B-A in blocks at 2.01 per game.

The 6’11 Henson is expected to back up Greg Monroe at center.  He becomes a dependable complementary player to the Bucks’ talented

young frontcourt core of Monroe, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Henson was the 14th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft out of North Carolina.

 

Bucks GM Hammond gets contract extension

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John Hammond

                         John Hammond

Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager John Hammond has been given a one-year contract extension.

There has been speculation for some time that the 61-year-old would be on the way out after the new ownership came in a year ago and that new coach Jason Kidd could be in charge of personnel.  But co-owner Wes Edens says Hammond’s vision and hard work was a main reason the Bucks did better than expected last season, with a .500 record and a playoff appearance.

Hammond is entering his eighth season with the Bucks.  He said they have a long way to go to become the “elite” team the Bucks want to be.

Hammond said it’s key that he and Jason Kidd have built up a “great amount of respect” for each other.

Both Hammond and Kidd now have contracts that run through mid-2017.

Hammond was named the N-B-A’s executive of the year in 2001, the last time the Bucks advanced past the first round of the playoffs.  Now, the team is building a young core, and they scored a major coup this summer when they signed free-agent center Greg Monroe.

Meanwhile, Bucks’ assistant G-M David Morway will not return.  He spent two years in Milwaukee, after serving as the G-M at Indiana.

Kidd, Hammond say report of front office change is wrong

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Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd

Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd and general manager John Hammond are denying a published report that said Kidd would take over as the club’s head of basketball operations this week and Hammond would either be reassigned or let go.

“I think sometimes sources can be wrong, media can be wrong, coaches can be wrong,” Kidd said.  “With this report that came out yesterday, it was totally wrong.”

Hammond is in the final year of his contract, while Kidd has two years left on his three-year deal.

“There is no friction, there is no announcement,” Kidd said.  “Maybe the source was saying this (Madison news conference) was the announcement, got it wrong.  There are no problems in Milwaukee.”

Kidd led the Bucks to a 41-41 record and sixth-seeded position in the Eastern Conference last season.  That is a 26-game improvement over the previous year.

AUDIO: Jason Kidd denies GM rumors :08

AUDIO: Jason Kidd says there is no problem or friction in Milwaukee. :17

AUDIO: John Hammond sayd he and Jason Kidd have a good relationship :23

Lasry & Edens admit mistakes in Kidd discussions

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Milwaukee Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens admitted Wednesday that they messed up the hiring process of new coach Jason Kidd.

Jason Kidd - Photo: Doug Russell

Jason Kidd – Photo: Doug Russell

Kidd was introduced to the media at a Wednesday morning news conference at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Kidd left the Brooklyn Nets after one season, making the playoffs after a 44-38 regular season finish.  The Nets won their first round playoff series against Toronto, then bowed to Miami in round two.

Kidd agreed to a three-year contract worth $15 million.  It brings his salary in line with recent deals given to New York’s Derek Fisher and Golden State’s Steve Kerr.

The hiring process was far from smooth.  Word leaked out that co-owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens were meeting with Kidd, while Larry Drew was still the Bucks head coach.

AUDIO: Marc Lasry is asked why they bungled the process :17

AUDIO: Lasry on why they kept GM John Hammond out of the loop :13

The Bucks ended up sending a pair of second round picks to Brooklyn for the right to sign Kidd. [Read more…]

Bucks will introduce Kidd as new coach today

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The Milwaukee Bucks officially named Jason Kidd as the team’s new head coach on Tuesday.  They’ll introduce him to Milwaukee at a 11:30am news conferenced at the BMO Harris Bradley Center this morning.

The Bucks signed Kidd after the Brooklyn Nets agreed to release him from his contract in exchange for two second round draft picks in the 2015 and 2019 NBA Drafts.  Kidd will become the 14th head coach in the history of the Bucks franchise.

“Jason is a determined leader, a tough-minded competitor and a great teammate,” said Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry.  “We believe his focus, vision and intensity will help him work alongside John (Hammond) and David (Morway) to rebuild the Milwaukee Bucks as we aspire to achieve excellence over the next several years.  We are excited that Jason will call Milwaukee his new home.”

The 41-year-old Kidd most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets where he led the team toa  44-38 record and a sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  The Nets upset the three-seed Toronto Raptors in seven games in the opening round, then fell to Miami in round 2.

 

Bucks coaching move leaves a bad taste (Viewpoint)

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When Herb Kohl sold the Milwaukee Bucks to co-owners MarcLasry and Wed Edens, basketball fans in the state rejoiced.  Finally, an

Former coach Larry Drew and GM John Hammond

Former coach Larry Drew and GM John Hammond

ownership group that will hopefully turn the Bucks into a winning franchise again.

The Bucks selected Duke’s Jabari Parker with the second overall pick and NBA fans in Milwaukee and Wisconsin continued to feel good about the future.

But soon after, Lasry and Edens decided to seek permission and eventually interview Jason Kidd for Larry Drews head coaching job.

When ownership changes take place, it’s normal to fire the coach and even the general manager and start over.  But Lasry and Edens didn’t make changes right away.  They instead moved forward in discussions with Kidd while not once, sharing their intentions with GM John Hammond.

There are some that believe Hammond will eventually be relieved of his duties and Kidd will gain control of the Bucks both as coach and general manager.  The Bucks say they’re hiring Kidd to coach.  He’s expected to get a three-year deal ranging from 12 to 15-million dollars.  But don’t think for one minute that Kidd won’t eventually push for both jobs.  [Read more…]

Bucks select Parker with No. 2 overall pick

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The Milwaukee Bucks wanted Duke’s Jabari Parker and Parker made it perfectly clear that he wanted to play for the Bucks.  The match made in

Jabari Parker / Photo Courtesy of Rob Kinnan-USA Today Sports

Jabari Parker / Photo Courtesy of Rob Kinnan-USA Today Sports

heaven became reality when Cleveland used the top overall pick in the draft on Kansas Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins.  The Bucks then grabbed Parker with the second overall selection.

The Bucks ownership team of Marc Lasry and Wes Edens couldn’t be happier.  They get a player that has excellent character and is ready to play and contribute immediately.  And even more importantly, Parker wants to play in Milwaukee.

Parker can play either forward spot, big or small and he’s already drawing comparisons to NBA greats like Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony.

AUDIO: GM John Hammond compares Parker to Carmelo Anthony :14

Many of the so-called draft guru’s give the Bucks a top grade for the Parker selection.  They say he’s an immediate contributor, a player that will average 20-points a game in the NBA and be a All-Star.

AUDIO: GM John Hammond said Parker is a great fit with the Bucks :12

The Bucks weren’t done at the forward position after picking Parker.  They added 6’8, 240-pound forward Damien Inglis with the 31st selection, the first pick of the second round.  They followed that by picking LSU power forward Johnny O’Bryant with the 36th pick.

The Bucks wound up the night by selecting Pittsburgh guard Lamar Patterson 48th overall, then traded him to Atlanta for a 2015 second round pick.

Bucks get 2nd pick in NBA’s Draft Lottery

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The Milwaukee Bucks went into Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery with the best odds (25%) of obtaining the top pick in the June 26th draft.  But it was the Cleveland Cavaliers (1.7%) that came from the 9th position to grab the top pick.  They’ll draft number-1 for the third time in the last four years.

The Bucks get the number two pick, the first time in their history that they’ll draft from that position.

The Cavs will have their pick of top players like Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid of Kansas and Jabari Parker of Duke.  But regardless of who Cleveland goes with, the Bucks are going to get a real good player with the next pick.

Since the NBA introduced the lottery system in 1985, the second spot has produced a number of top players, like Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning and reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant.

Vote of confidence

Bucks General Manager John Hammond received a vote of confidence from the Bucks new ownership group.  Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens say Hammond will oversee the June 26th draft and continue as the Bucks GM for the near future.  Hammond and current head coach Larry Drew both have two years left on their contracts.

 

Pachulia sidelined for the next four weeks

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Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond announced today that Bucks big man Zaza Pachulia suffered a right foot fracture on Dec. 4 and will have his foot immobilized in a walking boot and re-examined in four weeks.

Pachulia hasn’t played in the last two games.  The injury was diagnosed when Pachulia underwent an MRI on Dec. 5.

In 17 games this season, Pachulia has averaged 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds and ranks fourth in the NBA in free throw percentage (.933), connecting on 42 of 45 attempts from the charity stripe.