August Updates: Bucks Waive Tucker, Add Carroll To Staff

One could accuse the Milwaukee Bucks of many things, but among them won’t be claims of keeping it boring. Here in August, the slowest month of the NBA calendar, the Bucks have moved on from one of their non-guaranteed contracts while bringing in an addition to head coach Mike Budenholzer’s staff.

Carroll, 36, confirmed the news himself on Twitter, and has been associated with Coach Bud for quite some time. The 11-year NBA veteran spent two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks during Bud’s tenure, including their 60-win season that featured an Eastern Conference Player of the Month award...given to the Hawks’ entire starting five. You know who else was in that starting lineup? Former Bucks Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague, that’s who! If nothing else, this move is another sign that Bud has “his guys,” and Carroll is the latest demonstration of that tendency.

However, such an assessment would be unfair to the Bucks’ newest assistant coach. Carroll will not be a full-on replacement for Darvin Ham – the newly-anointed head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers – but he offers a similar dynamic in the locker room. Carroll has been around the game, as a player and occasional coach, for years; his real-life experience as an NBA player gives his words additional credibility that cannot be artificially generated. His resumé as a player is more extensive than impressive, but anyone able to maintain a roster spot in the NBA for over a decade clearly has something figured out. As a career 35.8% three-point shooter, perhaps Coach Carroll can help the Bucks find the mark in the postseason? It’s worth a try.

Meanwhile, the front office cut loose Rayjon Tucker, a featured member of the Wisconsin Herd who earned a standard contract at the very end of last season. Years 2 and 3 of his three year deal were fully non-guaranteed, and given Milwaukee’s roster crunch it was widely expected that this move would happen sometime before the summer was over. At this point, Tucker at least has the opportunity to work out a deal with another NBA team before training camp opens up, or he could seek to further ply his trade overseas. Best of luck, Rayjon, whatever team adds you will surely enjoy the acrobatic dunks we got to see on occasion.