Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Agree to training camp deal with Justin Patton
According to a report from The Athletic, the Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to a training camp deal with journeyman center Justin Patton.
The Milwaukee Bucks continue to add to their roster ahead of the start of training camp this coming Monday.
First reported by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, the Bucks have agreed to a training camp deal with veteran center Justin Patton, who was most recently waived by the L.A. Clippers after being part of a draft night trade last week.
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If Patton’s name sounds familiar to Bucks fans, it’s because he has previously been within the organization as he briefly joined the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, right before the 2019-20 G League season shut down last spring.
In his seven appearances with the Herd last year, Patton averaged 12 points on .449/.368/.667 shooting splits, 6.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 1.5 assists across 24.6 minutes per contest.
Patton has certainly been well traveled over his time in the NBA since he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and then was immediately shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the Jimmy Butler trade.
Having briefly played in Minnesota as well as with the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the bulk of Patton’s time has come on the G League level, with the Herd being his most recent stint. Of course, a rash of foot injuries and instability has been the reason for why the Creighton product has not yet found his place in the NBA nearly three-and-a-half years into his NBA career.
Where does the Milwaukee Bucks’ roster stand going into the start of training camp next week?
With the inclusion of Patton on their roster, the Bucks’ active roster now stands at 19 players and all NBA teams can hold up to 20 players going into the start of training camp. For those wondering, two-way players count against that number, which means Jaylen Adams and Mamadi Diakite count against that mark.
Patton now joins Nik Stausakas and EJ Montgomery on the list of players who will be coming to Milwaukee on training camp invites.
As they start making their free agent contracts official, the Bucks’ active roster stands at 14 guaranteed contracts, but they’re facing cap constraints that currently prevent them from filling the last roster spot.
While the Bucks’ center depth chart is currently limited to Brook Lopez and two-way Mamadi Diakite, the pathway for Patton to make the final roster is quite the obstacle. Given Patton’s 3 years of NBA service, potentially signing the 23-year-old to an NBA deal at the minimum would come in at $1.67 million, though it will only count $1.62 million against the cap.
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We’ll see how long Patton’s time lasts in Milwaukee, but the potential that he once showed in Creighton is certainly still there if he can stay on the court. Given the Bucks’ previous interest in Patton, maybe they feel they’re best suited to harness his abilities, even in a camp deal.