3 players on the Milwaukee Bucks roster bubble: Georgios Kalaitzakis
This would perhaps be the biggest shock out of the names mentioned and is the most unlikely, but Georgios Kalaitzakis’ contract status could certainly make him a candidate to be waived. Similar to Bryant, Kalaitzakis has a partial guarantee going into camp which gives him a leg up on players like Robinson and Waters for making the active roster, but also hinders him if the Bucks want to add a veteran player to the roster.
There is also the obvious incentive to keep Kalaitzakis because he’s a draft pick and they still have two more years on Kalaitzakis’ contract, even if both are non-guaranteed. He’ll be 23 in early January, so I would hope he doesn’t get waived purely because I want to see how he can develop. He showed some flashes in his brief Summer League stint, playing in only two games but averaging 10.5 points, five assists, and 1.5 steals.
I don’t think it’s particularly likely that Kalaitzakis gets waived, but I wonder if there’s a world where they move him from a standard contract to a two-way if they want to sign a veteran player. He’d have to go through waivers, so you risk another team picking him up, making it an unlikely scenario but something that could happen.
Kalaitzakis is one of my more interesting players to watch heading into the preseason, and I’m curious how they’ll handle his development in year one.
Preseason tips off on October 5 against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road at FedEx Forum in Memphis.