Pete Nance is suddenly in play, and that puts the Milwaukee Bucks in a tricky spot.
The Bucks waived Nance over the weekend because they had no roster room and no trade lined up to open one. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the team still wants to bring him back on a two-way contract after cutting him, but other teams are sitting on open two-way spots and could try to grab him.
Fischer also said that several “contenders” are watching Nance. That matters because if another team can offer a clearer path to minutes and a real shot at a title run, the forward may have reason to look elsewhere.
The Phoenix Suns appear to be one of the most obvious threats. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that they are searching for frontcourt depth on a two-way deal after waiving Koby Brea. With starting center Mark Williams out for the foreseeable future, Nance could get a real chance to carve out a role there and eventually push toward a standard roster spot.
And Phoenix is hardly the only team in the mix. That’s the danger for Milwaukee: once Nance hit waivers, the Bucks lost control of the situation.
The move made sense from a roster-management standpoint, but it also opened the door for someone else to make a stronger pitch. If Milwaukee wants to keep him, the cleanest route would be creating two roster spots, which would give them one opening to hand to Nance. That seems unlikely.
So the Bucks are left hoping that familiarity and continuity matter. Over the past year, Nance has gone from a G League contributor to someone who looks like a real NBA piece when given a chance. The center room is crowded right now, but his path back could widen if Milwaukee makes a trade later.
For now, it comes down to two things: whether Nance clears waivers, and whether the Bucks can sell him on their two-way offer better than any other team can.
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