Cole Anthony Agrees To Buyout With Grizzlies, Will Sign One-Year Deal With Bucks

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 1:32 am

Cole Anthony has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies, sources told Shams Charania of ESPN.

Anthony is set to sign a one-year deal with the Bucks after he clears waivers.

Anthony was sent to the Grizzlies as part of the Desmond Bane trade with the Magic.

Anthony averaged 12.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds in his five seasons with the Magic.

The buyout gives the Grizzlies the cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Jaren Jackson Jr.

Via Shams Charania/ESPN

Future Coach · Post #2 » by **Future Coach** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 4:47 am

Good signing for the Bucks

Roy T · Post #3 » by **Roy T** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 10:24 am

I finna say the Bucks low key had a great post season, despite the Lillard drama

hoophabit · Post #4 » by **hoophabit** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 12:54 pm

As a Pistons fan I just want to wish Cole the best of luck. 'Break a leg' young man.

Melwing · Post #5 » by **Melwing** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:29 pm

The Bucks are killing it

WiggOuts · Post #6 » by **WiggOuts** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 5:09 pm

Seriously, considering how things looked to start vs how things are looking to end, the bucks really did well for themselves so far. They've added some guys you wouldve thought would be out of reach.

Seems like every time Giannis opens his mouth about his future they go and add someone lol

Pickled Prunes · Post #7 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 7:37 pm

hoophabit wrote:As a Pistons fan I just want to wish Cole the best of luck. 'Break a leg' young man.

I see what you did there. :wink:

It's hard to be mad at a guy for diving for a lose ball.

Pickled Prunes · Post #8 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 8:22 pm

WiggOuts wrote:Seriously, considering how things looked to start vs how things are looking to end, the bucks really did well for themselves so far. They've added some guys you wouldve thought would be out of reach.

Seems like every time Giannis opens his mouth about his future they go and add someone lol

Roy T wrote:I finna say the Bucks low key had a great post season, despite the Lillard drama

Future Coach wrote:Good signing for the Bucks

Melwing wrote:The Bucks are killing it

This was indeed a good signing for the Bucks... but I think you guys might be a bit over your ski's on this one. Cole Anthony is a third string PG on a good team. He was 10th in MPG in ORL last season, 313th in the NBA. If he's starting, the Bucks are in trouble. If KPJ is their starting PG, the Bucks are in trouble. If their next sighing is CP3 and Cole Anthony is his backup... that will be a good summer.

WiggOuts · Post #9 » by **WiggOuts** » Sun Jul 13, 2025 10:04 pm

Pickled Prunes wrote:
WiggOuts wrote:Seriously, considering how things looked to start vs how things are looking to end, the bucks really did well for themselves so far. They've added some guys you wouldve thought would be out of reach.

Seems like every time Giannis opens his mouth about his future they go and add someone lol
Roy T wrote:I finna say the Bucks low key had a great post season, despite the Lillard drama
Future Coach wrote:Good signing for the Bucks
Melwing wrote:The Bucks are killing it

This was indeed a good signing for the Bucks... but I think you guys might be a bit over your ski's on this one. Cole Anthony is a third string PG on a good team. He was 10th in MPG in ORL last season, 313th in the NBA. If he's starting, the Bucks are in trouble. If KPJ is their starting PG, the Bucks are in trouble. If their next sighing is CP3 and Cole Anthony is his backup... that will be a good summer.

I disagree. For what was available they did very well, players aren't exactly tripping over themselves to sign in MIL and Cole would have had other teams after him. Sure CP would be nice but he's also old and if it meant him with no Cole then they're kind of back at square one. I'm sure Cole signed because he sees an avenue for him to start, CP disturbs that. Cole did fall out of the rotation last year oddly but ORL had a lot of options and the clearly wanted to go with Anthony Black, im not sure why the even re-signed him a couple years back, made no sense

dsg2021 · Post #10 » by **dsg2021** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:02 am

He's good, he just wasn't some clear-cut starter level efficiency type player beating out Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black considering two-way impact. I think the Magic knew they would get a new guard in free agency too, so Cole Anthony had less of a chance to now beat out Suggs, Black, and Tyus Jones. Jase Richardson, the new draft pick, also took the rare roster spot on the Magic that allows a shorter player.

Cole Anthony:
- Great teammate for camaraderie.
- Brings energy out there.
- Gives up points on defense but sometimes it's not so bad because he has big athleticism and hops to bother a shot, or even block it. He rebounds well because of this too.
- He gets microwave hot in scoring sometimes.
- Still plays mostly like a Point Guard.
- He could play off the bench in a smaller role, but you could tell he wants the motivation and gets extra energy from bigger minutes or starting.

I think he was a perfect A+ signing for MIL, considering it was probably a 1 year vet minimum. People are sleeping on MIL, and unrelated but sleeping on PHI too, if they stay healthy.

TimeisIllmatic · Post #11 » by **TimeisIllmatic** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:57 am

Good pickup for the Bucks from an energy/grit standpoint.

Pickled Prunes · Post #12 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 4:26 am

WiggOuts wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
WiggOuts wrote:Seriously, considering how things looked to start vs how things are looking to end, the bucks really did well for themselves so far. They've added some guys you wouldve thought would be out of reach.

Seems like every time Giannis opens his mouth about his future they go and add someone lol
Roy T wrote:I finna say the Bucks low key had a great post season, despite the Lillard drama
Future Coach wrote:Good signing for the Bucks
Melwing wrote:The Bucks are killing it

This was indeed a good signing for the Bucks... but I think you guys might be a bit over your ski's on this one. Cole Anthony is a third string PG on a good team. He was 10th in MPG in ORL last season, 313th in the NBA. If he's starting, the Bucks are in trouble. If KPJ is their starting PG, the Bucks are in trouble. If their next sighing is CP3 and Cole Anthony is his backup... that will be a good summer.

I disagree. For what was available they did very well, players aren't exactly tripping over themselves to sign in MIL and Cole would have had other teams after him. Sure CP would be nice but he's also old and if it meant him with no Cole then they're kind of back at square one. I'm sure Cole signed because he sees an avenue for him to start, CP disturbs that. Cole did fall out of the rotation last year oddly but ORL had a lot of options and the clearly wanted to go with Anthony Black, im not sure why the even re-signed him a couple years back, made no sense

I agree that Cole signed in MIL because they have a void at PG and he will definitely get minutes. He is a great signing if they need someone to eat 15-20 minutes at PG. But as I said, if he is their solution for a starting PG, they are screwed! CP3 with no Cole would be 50x better than Cole with no CP3.

WiggOuts · Post #13 » by **WiggOuts** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 8:55 pm

Pickled Prunes wrote:
WiggOuts wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:This was indeed a good signing for the Bucks... but I think you guys might be a bit over your ski's on this one. Cole Anthony is a third string PG on a good team. He was 10th in MPG in ORL last season, 313th in the NBA. If he's starting, the Bucks are in trouble. If KPJ is their starting PG, the Bucks are in trouble. If their next sighing is CP3 and Cole Anthony is his backup... that will be a good summer.

I disagree. For what was available they did very well, players aren't exactly tripping over themselves to sign in MIL and Cole would have had other teams after him. Sure CP would be nice but he's also old and if it meant him with no Cole then they're kind of back at square one. I'm sure Cole signed because he sees an avenue for him to start, CP disturbs that. Cole did fall out of the rotation last year oddly but ORL had a lot of options and the clearly wanted to go with Anthony Black, im not sure why the even re-signed him a couple years back, made no sense

I agree that Cole signed in MIL because they have a void at PG and he will definitely get minutes. He is a great signing if they need someone to eat 15-20 minutes at PG. But as I said, if he is their solution for a starting PG, they are screwed! CP3 with no Cole would be 50x better than Cole with no CP3.

CP is a better player than Cole, there's no denying that. But they just invested in an older PG that got hurt which would've wasted this entire season. You cant blame then for looking at the option that avoids that potentially happening again. Cole would also be a more valuable asset if a trade were to come along. Overal I think Cole is a safer bet to get a full season of production and for all we know Giannis doesn't like CP, which is very possible

Maybe the plan is to indeed try to get both of these guys, it would make sense to get Cole first as it would less likely deter Paul from joining but if it were the other way around it might deter Cole.

Pickled Prunes · Post #14 » by **Pickled Prunes** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 2:28 am

WiggOuts wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
WiggOuts wrote:I disagree. For what was available they did very well, players aren't exactly tripping over themselves to sign in MIL and Cole would have had other teams after him. Sure CP would be nice but he's also old and if it meant him with no Cole then they're kind of back at square one. I'm sure Cole signed because he sees an avenue for him to start, CP disturbs that. Cole did fall out of the rotation last year oddly but ORL had a lot of options and the clearly wanted to go with Anthony Black, im not sure why the even re-signed him a couple years back, made no sense

I agree that Cole signed in MIL because they have a void at PG and he will definitely get minutes. He is a great signing if they need someone to eat 15-20 minutes at PG. But as I said, if he is their solution for a starting PG, they are screwed! CP3 with no Cole would be 50x better than Cole with no CP3.

CP is a better player than Cole, there's no denying that. But they just invested in an older PG that got hurt which would've wasted this entire season. You cant blame then for looking at the option that avoids that potentially happening again. Cole would also be a more valuable asset if a trade were to come along. Overal I think Cole is a safer bet to get a full season of production and for all we know Giannis doesn't like CP, which is very possible

Maybe the plan is to indeed try to get both of these guys, it would make sense to get Cole first as it would less likely deter Paul from joining but if it were the other way around it might deter Cole.

You might think that Cole is a safer bet to be healthy but I'm not sure. CP3 played all 82 last season and has played 14 games and 2,115 total minutes more than Cole since Cole came into the NBA 5 seasons ago. (Not counting playoffs.)

And we aren't talking about trading key players to pay an aging HOF player max money. We are talking about signing an old but still elite (4.7 Ast/TO) PG on a minimum one-year deal to set up the offense for your wander-lusting MVP. If the plan in MIL is to have Cole or KPJ start at PG, Giannis won't be happy for long. And Giannis doesn't need to like CP3 to respect him. Not one player, coach or GM in the NBA would chose Cole Anthony over CP3 for any reason.

What it comes down to is: MIL has multiple holes in their guard rotation. Cole is a great signing... but he doesn't solve their problem. He's not a starting level player, and if he is starting than it means someone worse is playing big minutes off the bench. They need more, but this was a good start.

As far as the trade asset portion of your point: A player on a 1-year deal essentially has a NTC. MIL isn't bringing either player in as a trade asset because they would have no control over that asset.