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Wisconsin Herd add to roster via G League draft, trade

By Adam McGee

OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Jon Horst, General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Herd general manager Dave Dean and head coach Jordan Brady pose for a photo during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Jon Horst, General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Herd general manager Dave Dean and head coach Jordan Brady pose for a photo during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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As the Wisconsin Herd prepare for their second season in existence, they added to their roster via both the G League draft and a trade on Saturday.

With the start of the new G League season now less than two weeks away, and training camp fast approaching for the league’s franchises, it’s a busy time for the Wisconsin Herd.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ Oshkosh-based G League affiliate are in the process of finalizing their roster for the season ahead, and on Saturday they secured three potential additions to the squad.

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The Herd joined the rest of the G League in participating in Saturday’s annual draft, as teams were given the opportunity to select from the pool of eligible players whose G League rights had yet to be obtained by any team.

While recent NBA players such as Willie Reed and Chinanu Onuaku headlined the upper echelons of the draft order, ultimately going first and second to Salt Lake City and Greensboro respectively, the Herd would have to wait until much later in proceedings at G League headquarters in New York to get in on the action.

The Herd were without their first and second round pick, having traded for the returning rights to Xavier Munford prior to the start of last season.

That left the Herd with a third round selection, and two fourth round picks. Each team was obliged to pick a minimum of two players, who would then have to be included on the franchise’s upcoming training camp roster.

With reports of a number of notable returning players, the Herd opted to use only two of those picks by passing on their final fourth round selection.

In the third round, the Herd selected Kanellos Garbis, a 25-year-old Greek guard who spent last year playing for Arkadikos B.C., a Tripoli based club in the Greek Second Division. That stands as one step up from the level Giannis Antetokounmpo was playing at prior to being drafted, a connection that seems far from insignificant considering Garbis has shared photos on vacation with Antetokounmpo on social media on multiple occasions.

In 30 games with Arkadikos, Garbis averaged 23.6 minutes per game, 7.4 points, 3.1 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals, on 41.5 percent shooting from the field and 27.2 percent from three-point range.

In the fourth round, the Herd opted for Michael Qualls, a 24-year-old wing with G League experience from last year, who has also previously played in Italy and Israel since going undrafted out of Arkansas. Qualls went undrafted in 2015 after suffering a torn ACL in a workout for the Phoenix Suns.

Qualls was considered an elite athlete prior to that injury, and showed glimpses of that potential with averages of 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 23 games between the Texas Legends and Salt Lake City Stars last season.

Following the draft, the Herd opted to send their 2019 first round pick to the Miami Heat affiliated Sioux Falls Skyforce in exchange for the returning rights to Greg Whittington.

Whittington didn’t play in the G League last season, but had highly productive spells in Sioux Falls in each of the previous two seasons. For his time with the Skyforce, Whittington averaged 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 34.3 minutes per game, on shooting splits of 44.2 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from deep.

Whittington, 25, has also played overseas in Australia, Japan and Israel.

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The Herd’s official training camp roster should be announced very soon, providing a clearer picture of exactly which players are returning to Oshkosh for the 2018-19 season.

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