MIL waives Pete Nance, Johni Broome, Jake Stephens

Broome was waived by the Clippers in September after being traded by the 76ers in July. He’ll have a chance to earn a roster spot, though the current Bucks roster is too deep for Broome to carve out a significant role this season. Subsequently, Milwaukee waived John Butler Jr.

Broome was dealt to the Clippers in July to help keep the 76ers under the aprons, and the only return LA had to part with was cash. That wasn’t enough for them to keep him around, as this move will get them under the roster limit. Broome will likely find a two-way contract on a different team ahead of the season.

The move keeps Philly under the first and second aprons while signing LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Broome will operate as a depth option in LA behind Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

Philadelphia’s reported interest in moving on from Broome has more to do with the pending signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope than anything else. Just as the team needed to waive Dalen Terry to have the roster spot needed to make the LeBron James signing official, another roster spot is needed to add KCP. Broome, who was limited to 11 NBA appearances last season and missed time with a knee injury, played well during Summer League. Still, the 76ers have Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti to absorb minutes behind starting center Joel Embiid. In the right situation, Broome could have some streaming value throughout the season. According to Fischer, waiving Jabari Walker is another possibility, but the 76ers hope to hold onto him.

After having his rookie season end just after the All-Star break due to a torn meniscus, Broome has looked good in the 76ers’ two summer league games. Two days after posting 19 points and 13 rebounds in a complete stat line, the 2025 second-round pick recorded another double-double in Saturday’s 100-93 overtime victory. While Joel Embiid’s injury history makes it imperative that the 76ers have options behind him, the presence of Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti means that Broome will face challenging odds of cracking the rotation next season.

Broome tore his right meniscus in February, which ended his rookie season early. However, it didn’t appear to limit him in his first game back in action. With Andre Drummond gone, Broome will compete with Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti for the backup center minutes behind Joel Embiid and could end up playing a significant role when Embiid has to sit.

It’s a two-year, non-guaranteed contract for Nance. The Bucks somewhat curiously waived the 26-year-old forward last week, but elected to bring him back now. While much remains in flux with the Bucks’ roster, Nance seems ticketed for a reserve role next season. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game over 47 games (six starts) last season.

Nance will miss a second straight game to wrap up the season. Jericho Sims played 30 minutes on Friday but should play even more minutes with Myles Turner (ankle) out as well. Nance has a non-guaranteed $2.49 million contract in places for 2026-27 with the Bucks. Major changes are coming here, so it’s hard to project his role, but it’s possible he could be a reserve for the team next year.

To no one’s surprise, Antetokounmpo will not play in Sunday’s season finale. Turner is also out, which means more playing time and a likely start for Jericho Sims. Pete Nance is questionable, and his minutes are likely to increase if he can play.

Rollins recently missed time with a strained right hip, but he was not on the injury report for Friday’s game. Now that he is, the Bucks could slot Pete Nance back into the lineup if Rollins doesn’t play. His absence would also free up additional playmaking opportunities for Ousmane Dieng, AJ Green and Taurean Prince.