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NBA Free Agency: Bucks, Delfino agree to 3-year contract worth up to $10 million

Carlos Delfino has agreed to rejoin his former team on a 3-year deal worth up to $10 million.

USA TODAY Sports

Update: Adrian Wojnawoski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the deal has been finalized as a two-year contract worth $6.5 million with a third year available as a team option that would bring the total value to $10 million.

From earlier: According to a tweet from ESPN's Marc Stein, the Milwaukee Bucks are working on a new three-year contract with free agent Carlos Delfino. Delfino most recently played for the Houston Rockets but was waived in order to make room for the Rockets' pursuit (and eventual signing) of Dwight Howard. He appeared in 67 games for the Rockets, averaging 10.6 points in 25.2 minutes per game, but he suffered a broken foot in their first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The injury required surgery, and he is expected to miss training camp for the upcoming season with whichever team might sign him.

Delfino played for the Bucks for three seasons (2009-2012) before a mildly messy divorce sent him packing in search of a new home. This followed a lengthy and tumultuous recovery period from a concussion that left Delfino unable to play and even threatened his career. Aside from that serious health concern, Carlos performed reasonably well for Milwaukee, shooting between 36 and 37% from three in each season as a most-of-the-time starter. He doesn't have much more to offer on offense beyond decent three-point shooting (and an occasional "where did that come from?" dunk) and isn't a great defender, but in an ideal bench role he'd be a capable scoring option and useful floor spacer.

As has been the theme so far this season, a three-year deal for a player of Delfino's caliber probably wouldn't be anything to burn down the house about, but it seems a little unnecessary, and potentially even wasteful. Delfino is already 30 years old, and at this point the major injuries in his past need to be taken into account. A small dollar amount or team-friendly contract structure could render an eventual deal more palatable, but a 1-year agreement with a comparable veteran might provide similar production at a negligible cost.