Bucks have eyes on free agent guard
LAS VEGAS — It seems like the Milwaukee Bucks’ search for a consistently good perimeter shooter has gone on for eons.
Can you say O.J. Mayo?
Can you say Greivis Vasquez?
Can you say Rashad Vaughn?
Can you say Mirza Teletovic?
Can you can you say Matthew Dellavedova?
Well, the Bucks are still hoping to fill that gaping hole this summer. After striking out in the draft – they would have gladly taken Duke sharpshooter Luke Kennard if Detroit hadn’t nabbed him with the 12th overall pick – there’s a chance the Bucks could still add a legitimate 3-point shooter via free agency.
Several sources said the Bucks have expressed interest in Ian Clark, who played a key role off the bench for the reigning champion Golden State Warriors the last two seasons. The interest is apparently mutual.
Clark, a 6-foot-3 combo guard who is an unrestricted free agent, is arguably the best remaining free-agent long-range shooter. He shot 36 percent on 3s during the 2015-16 season with Golden State and raised that percentage last season to .374 while averaging 6.8 points in 14.8 minutes a game.
“He’s better than anyone the Bucks got now,’’ an NBA scout said of Clark’s perimeter shooting skills.
Added another advanced scout: “He’s not bad at all. I like him. He can shoot it, no question about that.’’
Said yet another scout: “I like him as a shooter, but the question is where do you play him? He’s a tweener. He’s not a true point guard and he’s not a true shooting guard.
“But he could help a team like Milwaukee because they need shooters.’’
The 26-year-old Clark, who was overlooked in the 2013 NBA draft, appeared in 66 games for the Warriors two seasons ago and 77 last season. He also appeared in a combined 32 playoff games in his two seasons with the Warriors.
The Warriors have been pleased with Clark but don’t need his services anymore as they recently were able to upgrade their already stellar backcourt by signing veteran free-agent Nick Young.
The scuttlebutt is Clark, who made $1 million last season, is seeking a contract for approximately $8 million.
Quick hits
- Sean Sweeney had been the head coach of the Bucks’ summer league team the last couple of years, but he isn’t even in Vegas this year. Instead, Sweeney is back in Milwaukee, working out Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Bucks rookie Bronson Koenig had his biggest fan in the stands for Sunday’s game: his mother Ethel Funmaker.
- Speaking of Koenig, the Bucks thought so highly of him that they didn’t even wait until after the draft to discuss signing him. According to sources, late in the second round a Bucks official contacted Keith Kreiter, Koenig’s agent, and they began discussing a deal.
- The Bucks’ tri-majority owners – Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan and Marc Lasry – watched the Bucks game at courtside, although Lasry eventually departed to sit with Bucks coach Jason Kidd in the stands.
- Chris Gilmartin, who was recently fired as the Bucks’ director of pro scouting, is already drawing interest from some teams. Gilmartin spent part of Sunday chatting with several Bucks’ employees.
- Wayne Embry, the Bucks’ general manager back in the Kareem and Oscar days who is now a consultant for Toronto, has dropped over 100 pounds in the last year and is now tipping the scales at a svelte 300 pounds.
- Former Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik, who was one of three finalists for the Bucks GM job before being fired by the team, attended the Summer League games and hung out with some Utah Jazz officials. Zanik worked for the Jazz before joining the Bucks a year ago and there is speculation he’ll eventually wind up back in Utah.
