In late October, it was pleasantly surprising for Duke basketball faithful to see former three-year Blue Devil big man Marques Bolden land a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. After all, the 25-year-old from DeSoto, Texas, had been out of the NBA since the 2020-21 season and had made only seven appearances in the league.
So, with that in mind and considering Bolden played only two games for the Bucks this season in what equated to a fifth-string role, it should come as no shock that the Bucks waived him on Sunday, the last day to cut players on partially guaranteed contracts (two-way deals fit that category) before they'd become fully guaranteed.
Not only did Bolden come off the bench only twice this season, but he played a combined three minutes, grabbing two rebounds but failing to add to his seven career points in the NBA.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound center went undrafted in 2019 after leaving Durham early following his junior year, when he started roughly two-thirds of the games for a Duke basketball team that featured four five-star freshmen in Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones.
Presumably, Marques Bolden will continue competing for the Bucks' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, or perhaps he'll seek an opportunity elsewhere. He's seen action in 16 games for the Herd this season, averaging 13.6 points, 6.0 boards, 1.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 24.6 minutes per contest.
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