Ex-Heat center Leonard gets new start with Bucks after slur derailed career

is getting another chance at the NBA, nearly two years after he used an antisemitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations said Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks have agreed on a 10-day contract, opening the door for the 7-foot center to play in an NBA game for the first time since January 2021. ESPN first reported the agreement between Leonard and the Bucks.

Leonard’s career was jeopardized and his reputation was seriously damaged on March 8, 2021, when it was discovered that he used a slur while playing an online game as others watched on a livestream. The Heat told him to stay away from the team indefinitely, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined him $50,000 and Miami eventually traded him to Oklahoma City.

Leonard said then that he knew he’d used a bad term but was unaware of the term’s meaning. In an apology, he said, “my ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong.” He immediately began scheduling meetings with Holocaust survivors, rabbis in South Florida and other community leaders.

For the Bucks, the move carries almost no risk. They’ll get 10 days to see if Leonard — who was with Miami for its run to the 2020 NBA Finals in the restart bubble at Walt Disney World — can help with their playoff push.

For his career, Leonard has averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on 48% shooting, 39% from 3point range.

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Bulls: Chicago signed veteran point guard Patrick Beverley on Tuesday and ruled point guard Lonzo Ball out for the season because of lingering discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee.

The Bulls brought in Beverley to help solidify a position that has been a sore spot all season with Ball recovering from his second left knee surgery in less than a year and his third since entering the NBA in 2017 with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team said Ball’s focus now will be on resolving the discomfort he feels performing “high level basketballrelated activities” and making “a full return” for next season.

Beverley, a Chicago product, is a three-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection. He has averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 11 seasons with the Houston Rockets, L.A. Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lakers. He averaged 6.4 points in 45 games for the Lakers this season before getting dealt to Orlando, which waived him.

Hawks: Atlanta has fired coach Nate McMillan, who was unable to follow up on the success of leading the team to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals.

Hawks general manager Landry Fields announced the firing on Tuesday night. The Hawks are 29-30 and eighth in the East this season.

Assistant coach Joe Prunty, who joined the Hawks in July 2021 as lead assistant, will serve as interim coach.

McMillan went 99-80 as Atlanta’s coach, including a 27-11 record as interim in the second half of the 2020-21 season.