Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond announced on Friday that the team has requested waivers on rookie guard Darington Hobson. The Bucks selected Hobson in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft -- No. 37 overall -- but the 23-year-old needed season-ending hip surgery on both hips before he ever had the chance to step on the court.
He worked hard and rehabbed his way back onto the court for his rookie season in the 2011-2012 campaign, but he simply could not crack a deep wing rotation that also included fellow rookie Tobias Harris. The former New Mexico Lobos star was optioned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Developmental League back on December 30th, recalled on January 4th and then re-assigned on January 18th.
In five games with the Bucks this season, Hobson struggled to find a role or justify his label as a developmental prospect -- he only managed to produce 4 points on 2-13 shooting and 6 assists in a total of 39 minutes. While some may say the former Mountain West Conference Player of the Year never got a chance to show off his well-rounded game, the truth is that Hobson never flashed any NBA-ready facets of his game and couldn't earn meaningful playing time. Even in eight D-League games, Hobson only averaged 10.6 points on 41.7 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists. For better or worse, here is Hobson's career with the Bucks in a nutshell:pensions
| February 1, 2012 | Recalled from Fort Wayne (NBADL). |
| January 18, 2012 | Assigned to Fort Wayne (NBADL). |
| January 4, 2012 | Recalled from Fort Wayne (NBADL). |
| December 29, 2011 | Assigned to Fort Wayne (NBADL). |
| December 10, 2011 | Re-signed by the Milwaukee Bucks to a two-year contract. |
| December 2, 2010 | Waived by the Milwaukee Bucks. |
| December 2, 2010 | Missed 18 games (hip surgery). |
| October 12, 2010 | Hip surgery, late August. |
| September 3, 2010 | Signed by the Milwaukee Bucks. |
The move drops the Bucks' roster to 14 players, but it's not clear what (if anything) the team plans to do with the open spot. Are they planning a trade of Stephen Jackson -- who has been linked to Dwight Howard in the NBA rumor mill -- that requires the additional vacancy, or might they pursue a backup center to shore up the frontcourt? Alex Kennedy writes that another big man could be in the cards, with the Bucks reportedly interested in Joel Przybilla, Kyrylo Fesenko and Chris Kaman. Also keep in mind that Przybilla's agent Bill Duffy told ESPN yesterday that his client was choosing between the Heat and Bulls. Stay tuned for more.