Ellis tells Bucks he will opt out of contract (Yahoo! Sports)
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (AP) — Monta Ellis will be an unrestricted free agent July 1 after informing the Milwaukee Bucks he is opting out of the final year of his contract.
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Bender, Van Exel follow new coach Drew to Bucks (Yahoo! Sports)
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (AP) — Bob Bender and Nick Van Exel are following Larry Drew to Milwaukee.
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Reports: Monta Ellis opts out of contract with Bucks
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis has informed the team he is opting out of the final year of his contract, according to multiple reports.
Ellis, 27, had until Thursday to decide on a player option for 11 million next season and informed the Bucks on Monday morning he has decided to test the free-agent market.
Acquired from Golden State in the Andrew Bogut trade on March 13, 2012, Ellis averaged 18.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in 103 games with the Bucks.
Ellis started all 82 games last season for Milwaukee, averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 41.6 percent from the field, his lowest shooting percentage since his rookie year.
The Bucks reportedly offered Ellis a three-year, 36 million extension recently, with the extension requiring Ellis to not opt out of the final year of his current contract. Ellis reportedly declined the extension.
Milwaukee’s leading scorer from a year ago, Ellis is expected to draw significant interest fr
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Monta Ellis Reportedly Will Opt Out of Contract with Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Monta Ellis reportedly will opt out of the final year remaining on his contract with the team, according to league sources via ESPN NBA insider Chris Broussard:
According to Broussard, Ellis has one year and $11 million remaining on his current deal with the Bucks.
Milwaukee offered Ellis a three-year, $36 million extension at the beginning of June and had until June 20 to opt out, according to the Journal Sentinel‘s Charles F. Gardner.
Since he opted out, he will become a free agent on July 1.
Ellis, who will turn 28 in October, led Milwaukee in scoring this past year, averaging 19.2 points, six assists and just over two steals per game while playing in all 82 regular-season games. He led the Bucks in four postseason games as well, averaging 14.3 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals per contest against the Miami Heat.
Sources close to Broussard say that there are three teams expressing interest in Ellis, including the Los Angeles Lakers. However it’s unlikely that the Lake Show would be able to acquire him, as they would need to work out a sign-and-trade with the Bucks.
The Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks are the other two teams believed to be in the mix to sign Ellis this summer.
Considering the fact that Ellis is still in his prime and is averaging 19.4 points per game for his NBA career, the list of teams interested in him is sure to grow as the summer progresses.
Ellis, who played high school basketball at Lanier in Jackson, Miss., has played eight seasons in the NBA since being selected 40th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 2005 NBA draft.
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Changing of the guard in store for Milwaukee Bucks this off-season?
Despite finishing six games under five hundred, the Milwaukee Bucks earned the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Mired in mediocrity, the Bucks already hired Larry Drew as their new head coach and there could be a changing of the guard this off-season as well since both Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis will likely test the free agent waters.
Milwaukee Bucks (38-44 last year)
2012-13 Season Summary:
For the past decade, the Milwaukee Bucks have been skating by as an average NBA franchise. The team has remade itself several times during that span but have failed to become anything more than a borderline playoff team and that once again the case during the 2012-13 campaign
The backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis was erratic throughout most of the season; showing moments of offensive brilliance one night and then playing completely out of control the next evening. Though the team had some decent other pieces, it was ultimately the backcourt that would make or br…
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Larry Drew shakes up Bucks assistant coaching staff
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — Milwaukee Bucks coach Larry Drew is set to hire his coaching staff, and it won’t include anyone from the previous regime.
Assistant coaches Anthony Goldwire, Chris Gilmartin, Sidney Moncrief, Bill Peterson and Joe Wolf all have been told their contracts won’t be renewed, a Bucks official confirmed Wednesday.
A native of Kohler, Wis., Wolf took over as the team’s lead assistant after Jim Boylan became head coach in January. Milwaukee was Wolf’s first NBA coaching job, as he joined Scott Skiles’ staff in 2008 after coaching in the D-League.
His number hanging from the rafters at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Moncrief returned to Bucks as an assistant coach in 2011. In 10 seasons with the Bucks as a player, Moncrief was a five-time all-star and was twice named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Like Wolf, Goldwire’s first job as an assistant coach came when he was hired with the Bucks in 2010. Peterson, the longest tenured assistant coach, has been with the
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Gruman: Bucks made a good choice with Drew
MILWAUKEE — While Larry Drew was in the middle of describing his first extended look at the city of Milwaukee, a cell phone rang.
“That’s a fine,” Drew said without hesitation.
As it turns out, it was his wife Sharon’s iPhone. It’s tough to be the wife of a coach.
While the exchange was light-hearted and everybody laughed about it afterward, it was a well-timed example of exactly what the Bucks need Drew to bring to the organization. Not only do the Bucks need a leader to direct the ship and give the franchise some sort of direction, but they also need Drew to instill respect and discipline as head coach.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about Drew before he became a serious candidate other than the fact that he had won consistently with his Atlanta teams. Digging in a little bit further, Drew’s resume is much more impressive than most think.
Lauded around the league for his ability to make adjustments and call plays in games, Drew got the job done with the a Hawks team that did
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Drew stay positive, pays off with Bucks job (Yahoo! Sports)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Larry Drew could have sulked during his last season in Atlanta, complained to anyone who would listen about being a lame duck despite a winning record and three straight playoff appearances.
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Bucks owner Kohl discusses new coach, new arena
MILWAUKEE — It was the one question Milwaukee Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl didn’t answer, but his facial expression said it all.
Kohl clearly wasn’t happy with the way last season ended. Relationships between head coach Jim Boylan and different players waned down the stretch, as did Milwaukee’s performance on the court. The Bucks limped their way into the playoffs and were swept by Miami in the first round.
Because of this, a player’s coach was a priority in the team’s coaching search, but the Bucks were also looking for a coach who demands respect, as well. Like general manager John Hammond, Kohl believes they’ve found the perfect match in Larry Drew.
“We want to be a good team,” Kohl said. “We want to get to the playoffs. We want to win in the playoffs. Our goals are we think reasonable, and we think Larry Drew is the person who can lead us there.
“We (thought) we had a chance to be pretty good this year until we sort of cratered at the end. We want to be very g
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Milwaukee Bucks hire Larry Drew as coach
Drew was let go by the Atlanta Hawks and didn’t stay unemployed for long
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