Bucks News: Doc Rivers Offers Disappointing Ultimatum on Ryan Rollins Injury

The Milwaukee head coach revealed that the team's promising young point guard could already be faced with a major choice.

Oct 17, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) dribbles during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Just as the Milwaukee Bucks' 2024-25 NBA season has started to turn around and the club has begun to emphasize some of its younger charges, one of the most intriguing breakouts could soon be faced with an ominous choice.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has revealed that promising young two-way point guard Ryan Rollins, who's been out with what was initially diagnosed as a left shoulder instability since November 12, may be on the shelf longer than initially expected.

According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Milwaukee adjusted the shoulder injury from a mere "left shoulder instability" to the more ominous designation of a "left shoulder dislocation."

"Yeah, he's in a tough spot, honestly. I think he's going to give it a go. With that injury, you don't have but two choices," Rivers said. "One is to play and the other is to do surgery. And Ryan, at this point in his career, surgery would be very difficult for him. So I think he's going to try to give it a go — not today obviously — but soon."

The 6-foot-3 swingman was selected with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft following a First Team All-Mid-American Conference run with Toledo.

He had his draft rights traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Tyrese Martin. He played sparingly for Golden State as a rookie, and in February of the 2022-23 season he had a season-ending surgery to repair a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.

Rollins was flipped to the Washington Wizards in the 2023 offseason. Washington waived him in January. He inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Bucks in February.

When All-Star Milwaukee point guard Damian Lillard was placed in the NBA's concussion protocol, Rivers opted to elevate Rollins to temporarily start in his stead, not primary backup point guard Delon Wright. In the one game he started, a 99-85 decision over the Toronto Raptors, Rollins scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field (4-of-7 from deep), pulled down five rebounds, swiped five steals, and dished out three assists during his 22 healthy minutes.

On the year, Rollins is averaging 3.2 points on .435/.545/.750 shooting splits, 1.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.8 steals a night through his nine healthy matchups. Across his 11 regular season bouts with the Wisconsin Herd (10 starts) in 2023-24, Rollins posted encouraging averages of 16.5 points on .428/.397/.688 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per bout.

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