With training camp tipping off in just under three weeks, the Bucks are filling out their roster to its 21-man offseason limit, signing guard Cormac Ryan. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
You might remember Ryan from the Bucks’ Summer League squad in July. Back then, our resident Summer League expert Finn Kuehl called him “a flat-out three-point sniper who makes good decisions as a passer” with the caveat that “there’s a universe where he’s the next AJ Green, but we probably
don’t live in it.” Certainly, his 18-point performance in the Vegas opener had some dreaming on him as the next Bucks two-way success story, when he buried three of his six looks from behind the arc in 22 minutes off the bench. But that star quickly faded, as he connected on just 25.7% of all his attempts for the remaining four exhibition contests, including a nasty 4/22 behind the arc.
Nevertheless, Milwaukee saw fit to take a look at Ryan for at least training camp. At 6’5” and 195 pounds, the Manhattan native has good size for the two, but is definitely on the older side for someone with no NBA experience: he’ll be 27 in October. He split his college career between a year at Stanford (he transferred out pre-pandemic, even), three at Notre Dame, and one at UNC with his extra year of eligibility. His college shooting line of .396/.354/.825 hides within it one pretty successful season in terms of conversion: his redshirt sophomore year in South Bend, when he shot 45.4% from the floor and 40.7% from deep.
Ryan spent last year with the Oklahoma City Blue (come on, really?), the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 12.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 27.4 MPG, shooting an impressive 97% (65/67) from the line plus 40.4% from the field and 35.6% from three. He was in camp with OKC last year too. In Vegas with the Bucks, he had similar counting stats with 11.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.6 APG in 23.1 MPG but the .326/.250/.917 shooting line won’t confuse anyone with Green. So he doesn’t really project as a future gunner in the league.
This signing actually has the Bucks’ roster at 21, at least for now. As we’ve discussed, Milwaukee has 15 players on guaranteed contracts thanks to the (re)signing of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Andre Jackson Jr. is only partially guaranteed for $800k. Then there are three players on two-way contracts—three is also the limit for the number of two-way players teams can carry—plus training camp deals for Amir Coffey and now Ryan, both fully non-guaranteed. So if the Bucks want to add anyone else for camp, a move will need to be made first to oepn a roster spot. If Ryan is waived before Opening Night and the Bucks designate him as an affiliate player, he’d get a $85,300 bonus for joining the Wisconsin Herd, so long as he remains with them for 60 days.
