Ten-year veteran free agent Steve Novak finds himself still without an official team and contract two weeks into the free-agency period. His mother club, Milwaukee Bucks, has yet to offer him a deal, but the sweet-shooting big man is reportedly patient about what is happening around him.
ESPN reported that if it was up to the 33-year-old forward, he would rather "stay home and sign another contract with the" Bucks, but the team is still weighing its roster options as of the moment.
"The A priorities have to take place," said Novak on Tuesday, as per the Journal Sentinel. "There have been conversations that have gone on with guys like Dwyane Wade and other big free agents, and those have to happen first."
The Bucks were one of the teams that scheduled a meeting with Wade this month and allegedly had come close to winning his signature. The three-time NBA champion eventually chose the Chicago Bulls, though, and Milwaukee moved on to check all the other free agents left in the market.
"We understand that. What can happen contract-wise has to rely on those other signings, so we're being patient. We have very open dialogue at this point. It's good. We understand this is just part of the process," Novak said.
So far, Milwaukee has only made two huge transactions this summer and it seems like they are looking for a few more. The first one was securing a three-year, $30 million deal with former Phoenix Suns power forward Mirza Teletović while the other was snagging Australian point guard Matthew Dellavedova from the reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers to a four-year, $38 million agreement.
At the moment, only three spots are left in the Bucks' league-mandated 15 roster positions per NBA team and with big man Miles Plumlee, currently a restricted free agent, set to come back to Milwaukee, only two spots remain and Novak should be fighting for one of them.
Novak joined his hometown squad last February after he was released by the Denver Nuggets following a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, he managed to play only three games with the Bucks before spraining his left MCL five days later during a game against the Detroit Pistons.