After initially appearing to have sealed the final roster spot, Gerald Green was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
When the Milwaukee Bucks announced their decision to waive Gary Payton II, Brandon Rush and Joel Anthony in the hours after Friday’s preseason win over the Detroit Pistons, the assumption of most — including this author — was that the team had settled on its roster for the regular season.
Gerald Green was the one training camp player who had survived that batch of cuts, and for all intents and purposes it appeared that he had won the 15th roster spot, as a result.
Then on Saturday afternoon the latest plot twist arrived when Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports’ The Vertical reported that Green was in fact the latest player the Milwaukee Bucks had requested waivers on.
Sources: Milwaukee has waived guard Gerald Green. The 10-year veteran reenters free agency before season starts this week.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 14, 2017
Green played in all four of Milwaukee’s preseason games, averaging 10.5 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. Green had struggled with his shot, making only 38.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range.
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As a result, the Bucks’ roster now stands at 14 with their season opener taking place on the road against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. That leaves a number of different options for the team.
Firstly, the Bucks could head into the season with an open spot, leaving the possibility of adding a free agent throughout the course of the year, or being able to take back a player as a part of a trade.
Otherwise, the Bucks could explore either of those options more immediately.
While a host of experienced and capable players were waived by Milwaukee this week, plenty of other notable names hit the free agent market from around the NBA too.
Anthony Morrow was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers, and according to a report from Mike Scotto of Basketball Insiders back in September, the Bucks had held an interest in the veteran sharpshooter prior to him signing that deal.
Other players who could be of interest and were waived elsewhere include DeAndre Liggins, most recently of the Miami Heat, Isaiah Canaan who had spent preseason with the Thunder, and Richard Jefferson who is set to be waived by the Atlanta Hawks following the trade that brought him across from Cleveland.
Aside from free agents, it’s no secret that the Bucks have tried to create greater flexibility by exploring trades over the course of the year. By all accounts there’s been little interest in the players dangled by Milwaukee up until this point, but perhaps the option to take back more players than they send out may help in that regard.
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Only time will tell as to what exactly the Bucks’ plans are, but if they do have another move in mind at this point, the chances are that news will break very soon.