Jabari Parker to sit out Bucks' season opener, could return in early November
The Milwaukee Bucks will open 2015-16 without star forward Jabari Parker.
Parker, whose rookie campaign ended with a torn ACL last December, won't be ready to return for the Bucks' season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
"Nothing to be said; next guy up," Bucks head coach Jason Kidd said of Parker's absence to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Similar to comments he made over the summer, Kidd repeated that he's managing Parker's workload with an eye to the future.
"Working Jabari back in is something as a team we've got to get used to, because that's just what it is," Kidd said. "But in the bigger picture it's just to get everybody healthy and everybody going.
"That's our main objective right now."
The good news is that Parker is nearing a return. Gardner notes that the No. 2 pick of the 2014 NBA Draft could return sometime in early November. The 20-year-old joined the Bucks in training camp but was limited.
In the meantime, Parker's injury leaves the Bucks' wing rotation rather shorthanded for Wednesday's trip to Madison Square Garden. Small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is serving out a suspension dating back to the Bucks' embarrassing Game 6 loss to the Chicago Bulls in last year's playoffs, while swingman O.J. Mayo is questionable with a hamstring pull.
Parker averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 29.5 minutes per game last season.