ABC: Bogut to miss Olympic qualifiers
We've spent the past few weeks lamenting the possibility of losing part or all of the upcoming NBA season, but the collateral damage of the lockout isn't limited to the NBA hardcourt. Though Andrew Bogut seems to be making good progress following arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in April, the NBA's labor uncertainty is likely to assure his exclusion from Australia's all-important three game Olympic qualifying series against Oceania rivals New Zealand September 7th through 11th.
"The NBA lockout has made his insurance issues impossible for Basketball Australia and Andrew to feel comfortable that his contract would be fully insured in the event of injury and, as a group, we understand and support Andrew," [Australian head coach Brett] Brown said.
Like most Bucks fans, I've taken to rooting for the Boomers since Bogut arrived in 2005--heck, I even found myself rooting for Bogut and the Aussies when they faced off against team USA in the 2008 Olympics. But that doesn't mean I'm terribly interested in seeing Bogut test his surgically-repaired arm any sooner than necessary. The Bucks are saying the right things about Bogut's rehab so far, but the fact that he hasn't been healthy since his fall 15 months ago only magnifies the usual concerns associated with NBA players representing their countries in international competition. And if losing a portion of the regular season means Bogut has a better chance of getting back to full strength, then the lockout may have a major silver lining for the Bucks.
Jennings and Sanders options picked up
No shocker here: the Bucks opted to pick up their 12/13 team options on both Brandon Jennings ($3.179 million) and Larry Sanders ($1.992 million). Sanders has one more team option year in 13/14 at $3.053 million, but the tougher decision will be what to do with Jennings when he's eligible for an extension a year from now. If the Bucks don't sign him to an extension next summer, they'll need to make him a $4.33 million qualifying offer in the summer of 2013 to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. From there Jennings could sign a new deal with the Bucks, sign an offer sheet with any team that the Bucks could match, or accept the one-year QO and become a free agent in 2014. Then again, this is all assuming a new CBA doesn't change the rules of the game.
JS: Bucks players expecting a very long summer
Brandon Jennings and Larry Sanders were among the Bucks working out in Milwaukee last month, and they were joined by draft picks Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer last week. But with the lockout preventing teams from having any contact with players, the Bucks' players have now scattered for the summer. Charles Gardner writes that Jennings is still trying to figure out where he'll be for the summer (Baltimore or Atlanta?), while Luc Mbah a Moute will be representing Cameroon at the African Cup before returning to UCLA for classes and workouts.
Bucksketball: A Treatise, On Stephen Jackson
Ian Segovia tests out Stephen Jackson's warrior credentials. I enjoyed this.
WSSP: Jackson joins The Big Show
Pretty standard interview from last week with Stephen Jackson following his introductory press conference.
Lockout roundup
Some recommended reading as we sit around hoping that the players and owners can find some common ground.
- ESPN: CBA guru Larry Coon analyzes the NBA's claims that the league lost $370 million a year ago.
- SLC Dunk: nice fanpost here discussing why an earlier Deadspin post about teams making money "disappear" (since amended) shouldn't be taken at face value.
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Wojnarowski: NBA lockout threatens entire season: Good read here from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski on the brinksmanship and behind-the-scenes wrangling that will likely determine how long the lockout goes.
Privately, the agents will keep pushing for union decertification. They’ll push for the courts, for chaos, and pray the threat will get the owners to back away from their nuclear demands. The union still hopes those less adamant over the hard cap – the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, for example – will wrest control from the hardliners, including the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.