Drew Timme and Malachi Smith are teammates once again.
The Wisconsin Herd, the NBA G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, acquired former Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Smith from the Rip City Remix on Friday. Timme signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Milwaukee in August and has played in 22 games for the Herd this season.
Smith, 24, appeared in 15 games for the Remix this season and averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 28.4 minutes. The 6-foot-4 guard started his professional career on a high note with a 33-point performance in his second game, shooting 12-of-20 from the field and knocking down five 3-pointers. He's scored 20 or more points three times in the G League Showcase (Nov. 10-Dec. 14).
Smith adds more playmaking ability to a Herd squad that ranks in the G League's top 10 teams in assists per game. Starting point guard Kihei Clark is top 20 with 5.9 assists per game. There is also the chemistry bonus between reuniting Smith and Timme a year after they helped guide Gonzaga to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
Smith could make his debut with the Herd in the team's next game on Wednesday against the College Park Skyhawks.
Timme made his third consecutive start for the Herd (4-3) on Saturday, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds in a 100-98 loss to the Mexico City Capitanes. It was also Timme's third consecutive game with 10 or more points, as he put up 14 on 6-for-11 shooting Friday against the Capitanes. Two of those points came via a ferocious one-hand dunk over two defenders in the fourth quarter.
Timme's NBA clock is ticking. The deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts passed on Monday, though 10-day contracts are available until the end of the regular season in April. Any team can sign Timme from the G League on a 10-day as long as it has a free spot on its 15-man roster.
It should be noted there are two types of 10-day deals — standard and hardship. Standard deals limit players to a maximum of two 10-day contracts with the same team in the same season, while a hardship deal allows for more in exception. Hardship contracts are granted due to injury and do not count against a team's salary cap.
More must-reads: