Category: Milwaukee Bucks Blog

The Bucks have signed 2016 draft picks Thon Maker (10th overall) and Malcolm Brogdon (36th overall).

Maker played two seasons for the Athlete Institute Academy in Mono, Ontario, which plays in the seven-team Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association. Maker was selected League MVP, Finals MVP and First-Team All-Star following the 2015-16 season. He led the Canada Elite AAU team to the title game of the Under Armour 17-and-under league after averaging 16.5 points and 11.8 rebounds during the finals in 2015. The 19-year-old also represented the World Select Team at the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit.

Originally from South Sudan, Maker emigrated to Australia with his family when he was eight years old before moving to the United States as a teen to play high school basketball for Carlisle High School in Martinsville, Va., where he averaged 21.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game and was named Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2013-14.

In five NBA Summer League games, Maker averaged 14.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game which earned him All-NBA Summer League Second Team honors.

Brogdon played four years of college basketball at Virginia and averaged 18.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a senior in 2015-16. He was named the 2016 ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in conference history to earn both honors in the same season. The 23-year-old was also a unanimous First Team All-American selection in 2016. He was also named to the All-ACC First Team as a junior (2015) and sophomore (2014). Brogdon concluded his Virginia career ranked ninth all-time in school history with 1,809 points scored. The Virginia product is a native of Atlanta, Ga., and played high school basketball at Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.).

In five NBA Summer League games, Brogdon averaged 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He was one of 25 players chosen – including teammate Jabari Parker – for the 2016 USA Men’s Select Team that trained with the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s National Team during its training camp in Las Vegas, Nev.

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on the Bucks and Miles Plumlee, who in his short career so far has bounced to the Pacers, Suns and Bucks, but will reportedly stick with Milwaukee for the coming years. Last season he played 14.3 minutes per game, averaging 5.1 ppg and 3.8 rpg:

The Milwaukee Bucks and center Miles Plumlee have agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract.

Plumlee was a restricted free agent but said after last season he wanted to return to Milwaukee. Bucks coach Jason Kidd and management also said they wanted to sign him to a long-term deal after the 6-foot-11 Plumlee emerged as a viable option in the second half of the season.

Agent Mark Bartelstein confirmed the deal Monday morning and said the contract could reach $52 million with incentives that Plumlee should be able to achieve (minutes played is one component). Salaries do not escalate in the deal but stay the same across the board with a base salary of $12.5 million each year. No player or team option is included in the deal.

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent forward Mirza Teletovic (MEER-za Tel-LET-O-vich), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Teletovic’s deal is reportedly a $30 million dollar contract over three years.

Teletovic, 30, is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and most recently played for the Phoenix Suns. He had a noteworthy 2015-16 campaign with the Suns as he averaged career highs in points (12.2), field goal percentage (.427), 3-point percentage (.393) and 3-pointers made (2.3) per game. Teletovic also competed in a career-best 79 games (one start) in 2015-16, and set an NBA record for most 3-point makes by a reserve in a single regular season (179).

The 6-9 forward began his NBA career in Brooklyn, playing three seasons for the Nets (2012-2015) after signing with the team as a free agent on July 11, 2012. He played under Bucks head coach Jason Kidd in Brooklyn during the 2013-14 season.

Teletovic helped the Nets reach the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team. He appeared in all 12 of Brooklyn’s playoff games in 2013-14 and averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 43.9 percent shooting from the field in 18.3 minutes per contest.

Prior to entering the NBA, Teletovic played professionally for 10 seasons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Spain. He has also represented the Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team seven times (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015).

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed head coach Jason Kidd to a contract extension, the team announced today. The agreement will keep Kidd in his position with the Bucks organization through the 2019-20 season.

“Our goal remains to be a consistent contender for NBA Championships and we believe that Jason Kidd is the right man for the job,” said Bucks co-owner Wes Edens. “In terms of preparing, developing and relating to today’s players, we think there is no better fit to lead our young and talented roster. We are excited that Jason will continue to call Milwaukee his home.”

“I truly believe that continuity is extremely important in our business, so I’m very happy for Jason and the Bucks organization to continue the partnership we have,” said General Manager John Hammond. “Jason and his staff work tirelessly to help our players grow and develop and I look forward to working with them to build our roster into a consistent contender.”

Kidd was hired by the Bucks on July 1, 2014, and helped lead the Bucks to a 41-41 record and the 6th seed in the 2015 Eastern Conference Playoffs in his first season in Milwaukee. In his three seasons as an NBA head coach, Kidd has posted a 118-128 (.479) record, including a 44-38 (.537) mark in his initial NBA head coaching campaign with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013-14.

“I greatly appreciate the confidence that our owners have placed in me by signing me to this extension,” said Kidd. “We have a hard-working group of coaches that want to teach our young players and help them reach their full potential. We still have work to do but we’re committed to the goal of building a team that consistently competes for titles.”

“I’m excited that my family and I will continue to make our home in Milwaukee,” Kidd continued. “We appreciate the terrific support we’ve received and look forward to many great years moving forward.”

Before becoming a head coach, Kidd enjoyed an exceptional 19-year NBA playing career, which included 10 All-Star Game appearances and an NBA Championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. He was named to the All-NBA First Team five times, All-NBA Second Team once, to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team four times and All-Defensive Second Team five times. Kidd also won gold medals with Team USA in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The second overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 1994 NBA Draft, Kidd shared Co-Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill. He played in 1,391 regular season games with Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York. His teams qualified for the postseason 17 times, and he played in 158 playoff games, including three trips to the NBA Finals (2002, 2003 – New Jersey; 2011 – Dallas).

The Milwaukee Bucks today named Justin Zanik the team’s new assistant general manager. In his role within the organization, Zanik will participate in all areas of day-to-day basketball operations management.

Zanik joins Milwaukee after spending three years as the assistant general manager for the Utah Jazz, where he helped facilitate contract negotiations, managed the team’s salary cap and oversaw the scouting of international prospects, among other duties.

“We are thrilled to welcome Justin Zanik to our basketball operations department,” Bucks General Manager John Hammond said. “He is a proven executive who brings a diverse background and wealth of basketball knowledge to the Bucks family. We look forward to his contributions to our organization.”

Zanik has been involved in all aspects of athlete representation for the past 15 years, and has been a certified agent for the National Basketball Players Association since 2003. Prior to his experience with the Jazz, he served as Vice President of ASM Sports, where he oversaw all levels of career management for ASM’s basketball clients.

The 41-year-old was also Vice President of Basketball Operations for Priority Sports & Entertainment from 1998 through 2002, where he managed European player contract negotiations and assisted in the negotiation, research and recruitment of Priority’s NBA clients.