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DeAndre’ Bembry, we barely knew ye. After being released by the Brooklyn Nets and picked up by the Milwaukee Bucks in February, the Budenholzer-in-Atlanta draftee tore his ACL and MCL in March and apparently is back in the free agent pool once more.
The Milwaukee Bucks are waiving forward DeAndre' Bembry, opening up a roster spot, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Bembry recently underwent season-ending knee surgery.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 7, 2022
Bembry, 27, appeared in only 8 games as a Buck, never getting a chance to find his footing after flashing some promise as a defensive specialist alongside fellow Nets castoff Jevon Carter. At the time, Bembry was brought in as a reserve wing to mitigate the absences of Pat Connaughton (injury) and Donte DiVincenzo (traded), and with the playoffs looming his spot in the rotation was already at risk of falling off entirely...even before he got hurt.
The cold reality of the league is that the Bucks have the opportunity to add a player who hasn’t been active on an NBA team yet this season, and waiving DeAndre’ Bembry is the only way to do that. Milwaukee will assume the remainder of Bembry’s salary (which wasn’t much to begin with and will be pro-rated), and Jon Horst has until the end of the regular season to sign someone to the final roster spot. Indeed, waiving Bembry has zero impact on the cap or luxury tax (he’s getting his money either way), so the only reason to release him is to clear up the spot for someone else to take.
Who do you want to see in a Bucks jersey for the stretch run, alongside newcomer Luca Vildoza? Are there any players who could actually have a positive impact for the Bucks? What’s Ersan Ilyasova up to these days?