MILWAUKEE — Jabari Parker has been assigned to the G-League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks.
No word on whether Parker would play for the Wisconsin Herd but it’s likely he’s just practicing. The Oshkosh, Wis., affiliate is scheduled to practice in Milwaukee on Monday and Tuesday at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center.
The Bucks are shooting Parker to return in February, according to the Daily Herald’s Mike McGraw.
Bucks forward Jabari Parker suffered his 2nd ACL tear last Feb. 8, five days after Zach LaVine. Bucks are planning on a February return for the former Simeon star.
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHBulls) December 16, 2017
Just over a year ago, La Crosse was in the running to be the home of the Bucks’ G-League team, as a $42-million La Crosse Center renovation was in the works. There was also talk of naming the court after former Minnesota Timberwolves president and GM Flip Saunders.
Saunders passed away from complications with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on Oct. 25, 2015. He led the La Crosse Catbirds to two titles at the Center.
In the WIZM studio Monday, La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat said he was, of course, disappointed that the Bucks chose Oshkosh. He likely believed the team wanted to be closer to Milwaukee.
The Wisconsin Herd played their first games of the season at the Bradley Center because the new arena there wasn’t ready.
“The Menominee Nation Arena project has been an incredible display of hard work and collaboration, starting as an empty lot just seven months ago,” G-League president Malcolm Turner said in late October.
Parker, the second overall pick of the 2014 draft, tore his left ACL for a second time last February.
He’s played just 152 games in his first three seasons. The 22-year-old averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1 steal and 1.8 turnovers last season in 51 games before blowing out his knee again.