Two former Michigan basketball stars had reason to be especially thankful on Thanksgiving: They signed NBA contracts.
Nik Stauskas signed with the Milwaukee Bucks and Derrick Walton Jr. inked a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to reports. Both had been out of the league by the end of last season.
Stauskas, the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year as a sophomore and No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft that year, played last season in Spain. The 6-foot-6 guard spent the five seasons before that playing for five different NBA teams, most recently Cleveland in 2018-19. He holds career averages of 6.8 points per game and 35 percent shooting from 3.
The 27-year-old Canadian who started for Michigan in the 2013 national championship and led the Wolverines to within one basket of the Final Four the next season, appeared in 22 games for Baskonia in the EuroLeague last year while battling a knee injury.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported on Thursday that Stauskas and the Bucks had agreed to a one-year deal. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Matt Velazquez specified that it was a training camp contract, meaning Stauskas will have to earn a roster spot in order to cash in on the deal.
The Bucks finished 56-17 last season, the best record in the league.
Walton will reportedly have to do the same in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday that Walton’s one-year deal was not guaranteed. The 6-foot point guard appeared in 26 NBA games last season -- 23 with the Los Angeles Clippers and three with the Detroit Pistons after signing a 10-day contract.
The Detroit native was a year behind Stauskas at Michigan. He stayed four years, leading the Wolverines to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament title and Sweet 16 as a senior. Undrafted, he signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat and appeared in 16 games as a rookie. He played in Europe the following year before returning to the NBA.
In Philadelphia, he’ll reunited new 76ers coach Doc Rivers, who coached Walton in Los Angeles.
The 76ers went 43-30 last year, good for sixth place in the East, and were swept by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Walton has averaged two points per game while shooting 42 percent from 3 over 42 NBA games.
Last year, nine former Wolverines played in the NBA: Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat), Caris LeVert (Brooklyn Nets), Moe Wagner (Washington Wizards), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas Mavericks), Trey Burke (Philadelphia 76ers, Mavericks), Jordan Poole (Warriors), Ignas Brazdeikis (New York Knicks), Glenn Robinson III (Golden State Warriors, 76ers), and D.J. Wilson (Milwaukee Bucks).
Three others -- Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Charles Matthews -- signed with teams in recent weeks.
The 2020-21 NBA season begins with training camp on Dec. 1, followed by preseason games on Dec. 11 and regular-season action on Dec. 22.
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Duncan Robinson’s remarkable rise from Michigan to the NBA
Michigan transfers Chaundee Brown, Mike Smith make quite the first impression
Inside Crisler Center for a strange, quiet Michigan basketball season opener
In Year 2 for Juwan Howard at Michigan, anything is possible
Franz Wagner: Stronger, taller, and primed for a big season for Michigan basketball