Rumor Check: Quiet Market, One Open File

By the Bucks Nightly Desk · Monday, October 5

The rumor mill around Milwaukee has produced more confirmation than news since September, with most reports already settled by the roster itself. The one thread still open is a league inquiry into a contract, and nothing about its scope or timing has moved since it surfaced.

Bucks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Sept. 8

An offseason check-in on Milwaukee carried a confidence score of just 20 and no specific transaction attached to it, the kind of generic franchise rundown that reads the same in October as it did the day it ran. It has not resurfaced since, and nothing in it has needed updating.

Sept. 17

A report that Milwaukee signed center Jake Stephens carried a confidence score of 24 at the time. The roster now lists him at No. 88, so the report checked out, even if it never drew much attention when it ran.

Sept. 22

Doc Rivers took an analyst job at NBC and said outright he is done coaching, a report scored at 29 confidence. That closes any question of Rivers returning to a bench anywhere, Milwaukee included, after he resigned partway through last season.

Sept. 23

The one report still carrying any real weight: Joe Vardon reported the NBA opened a probe into Milwaukee's deal with Gary Trent Jr., a 36-confidence item marked open. Nothing on the investigation's scope, findings or timeline has surfaced since that initial report, and it remains the lone active file on the Bucks' rumor sheet.

Now

The cap sheet explains some of the silence. Milwaukee carries $193.8 million in salary, over the $165.0 million cap but under the $200.4 million tax line, led by Tyler Herro's $33.0 million, Myles Turner's $26.6 million, Damian Lillard's $22.5 million player option, plus Kyle Kuzma's $20.3 million. That leaves little practical room to act on anything beyond what the league itself decides about the Trent Jr. matter.

Next The next date on Milwaukee's calendar is Oct. 7 at the Thunder, with the regular-season opener set for Oct. 21 at Washington; no date has been attached to when the league's review of the Trent Jr. deal might conclude.

What is the NBA investigating involving the Bucks?

The league opened a review of Milwaukee's contract with Gary Trent Jr., first reported by Joe Vardon on Sept. 23. No finding, scope or timeline has been made public since.

Is Doc Rivers coaching again?

No. Rivers took an analyst role with NBC in September and said he is done coaching.