The Milwaukee Bucks are finalizing a two-way contract with free agent wing Stanley Umude, as confirmed by Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Initial reports from Will Whitson of The Walk Pod via Twitter indicated Umude’s move to Milwaukee.
Umude, who played college basketball at Arkansas, went undrafted in 2022. In his debut professional season, he primarily played for the Motor City Cruise in the NBA G League, Detroit’s affiliate team. As a rookie during the 2022/23 season, Umude also saw action in one game for the Detroit Pistons under a 10-day contract.
Umude rejoined the Pistons last summer on an Exhibit 10 training camp agreement, later upgraded to a two-way contract just before the start of the 2023/24 season. The 25-year-old performed solidly in limited playing time, averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds with a shooting percentage of 45.3% across 24 games (averaging 12.8 minutes). His performance earned him a promotion to a standard two-year contract in February.
Unfortunately, Umude’s season was cut short in March due to a fractured ankle. Recently, the Pistons declined their team option on Umude, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Despite his size and reputation for hard play, Umude has faced challenges with scoring efficiency during his time with the Motor City Cruise over the past two seasons, suggesting that his NBA three-point shooting percentage might be an anomaly given the limited sample size. Nevertheless, signing Umude to a two-way contract is a low-risk move for Milwaukee, which has a need for wing depth and benefits from the flexibility of two-way contracts not counting against the salary cap.
