Rumor Check: Broome Signs, Rivers Moves On, Trent Jr. Probe…

By the Bucks Nightly Desk · Thursday, October 8

Four roster and front-office items have crossed the desk since mid-September, and only one is still genuinely unresolved. Johni Broome and Jake Stephens are already on Milwaukee's roster, Doc Rivers has closed his coaching chapter, and the NBA's inquiry into the Gary Trent Jr. trade, opened in September, has not.

Bucks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Sept. 17

Hoopsrumors reported Milwaukee had signed Jake Stephens on September 17, with a confidence score of just 20 and the report still marked open. The low number did not hold up: Stephens, 26, now sits on Milwaukee's roster at center, wearing No. 88 as a rookie on a twenty-one-man roster.

Sept. 22

Doc Rivers joined NBC as an analyst on September 22 and said, in that same report, that he is done coaching. The confidence score was modest, 25, and the item is still listed open, but it closes the loop on whether Rivers might resurface on a bench somewhere this season.

Sept. 23

Joe Vardon reported on September 23 that the NBA was still working through its investigation into Milwaukee's trade for Gary Trent Jr. That report carries a confidence score of 32 and remains open. No finding, scope, or timeline has surfaced since, and this inquiry is the one genuinely unresolved thread here.

Oct. 6

Hoopsrumors flagged a Johni Broome signing on October 6, giving it a confidence score of 43 and leaving the report open. Milwaukee's roster now lists Broome, 24, as a forward wearing No. 22, in his second professional season. The modest confidence score has not kept him off the roster.

Oct. 8

Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported October 8 that a deadline is approaching for a Jaquez extension, with general manager Jon Horst already on record about what the Bucks will not do on the cap. Milwaukee carries $193.8 million in salary, over the cap but under the $200.4 million tax line.

Next Milwaukee's next game is October 11 at the Hornets, with the regular season opening October 21 at Washington. The Trent Jr. probe and the Jaquez extension deadline will both still be outstanding when that opener arrives.

Did the Bucks actually sign Johni Broome?

Yes — Broome, a forward, is on Milwaukee's roster, though the report of the signing from hoopsrumors on October 6 carried only a confidence score of 43.

What is the NBA investigating in the Gary Trent Jr. trade?

The league opened a probe into the deal, reported by Joe Vardon on September 23, and no finding or timeline has been made public since.