Following a nasty locker room blowup with teammate Larry Sanders, Gary Neal’s time in Milwaukee could soon be coming to an end. ESPN reports that the Bucks are looking to ship Neal out of town by the Feb. 20 trade deadline:
That realization was slammed home over the weekend when Neal and Bucks center Larry Sanders engaged in a heated locker-room argument in Phoenix after Milwaukee’s 116-100 loss Saturday to the Suns. Some of the back-and-forth was heard by reporters, with Neal quoted as shouting at Sanders: “I earned my money. Why don’t you try it?”
It’s merely the latest controversy to envelop Sanders since the Bucks’ defensive anchor landed a four-year, $44 million contract extension coming into the season. Sanders was forced to miss 25 of Milwaukee’s first 33 games after suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb in an altercation at a local bar on Nov. 3.
Neal is in the first season of a two-year deal that pays him $3.25 million in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The 29-year-old is averaging 10.4 points in 20.5 minutes per game for the Bucks, shooting just 39.4 percent from the field overall but a robust 41.9 percent from the 3-point range.
