Teammates and friends are concerned how Thon Maker might be affected by President Donald Trump's temporary ban on the entry of non-American citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Maker was born in Wau, Sudan, which became part of an independent South Sudan in 2011. Sudan is one of the seven banned countries, along with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Maker moved with his family to Australia in 2002, so he also has Australian citizenship and travels with an Australian passport. 

There were concerns for Maker, however, as the Bucks were returning from a Friday night game in Toronto, just as U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified airlines about passengers whose visas had been canceled.

Luol Deng was also born in Wau, Sudan, but like Maker has dual citizenship, having become a British citizen in 2006.

Bucks senior vice president Alexander Lasry, whose father and Bucks owner Marc Lasry immigrated from Morocco, posted a series of messages on Twitter in support of Maker.

"I appreciate all the fans' concerns and prayers for Thon. And today, a Sudanese refugee who fled oppression and is an incredible young man will make his second NBA start," wrote Lasry. "I'm incredibly excited and proud of him. He's a symbol of what makes America great and all immigrants believe about America."

The Milwaukee Bucks brought Jabari Parker off the bench in their loss on Saturday to the Miami Heat for violating a team rule.

Parker disclosed locker room discourse to the media.

After dropping their fourth consecutive game on Friday in Orlando, the Bucks held a team meeting in which Parker became vocal in voicing his frustration with the lack of togetherness, sources said.

In his postgame media address, Parker confirmed there was a team meeting and disclosed what the organization regarded as private, locker room dialogue.

"I spoke up for the first time, and it didn't go my way," Parker said to the media. "I was getting thrashed, but hey, as long as I give them another perspective, I did my job."

The Milwaukee Bucks are hopeful that Khris Middleton will be available to return from his hamstring tear in early- to mid-February.

Middleton suffered the injury in September and the Bucks initially projected a six-month absence. 

Middleton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month that he always believed he'd be back at some point this season.

"But the way this team is playing, I'm not going to rush," Middleton told the newspaper in January.

Middleton is expected to be kept on a minutes restriction as he eases way his back from the injury.

In his second NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo was benched by Jason Kidd, which made him irate. 

“I was like, ‘Let’s see what this guy did in his career, anyway,’ ” Antetokounmpo recounts.

Antetokounmpo decided to look up Kidd’s bio on his phone. “I saw Rookie of the Year, NBA championship, USA Olympic gold medal, second in assists, fifth in made threes, blah, blah, blah. I was like, ‘Jesus freaking Christ, how can I compete with that? I better zip it.’ ”

Kidd is one of the best point guards to ever play the game but he always wished he was taller than 6'4.

“But I wanted so badly to be 6' 7" or 6' 8",” Kidd said. “Guys like Magic are looking through a window that’s so high. They can make passes I could only dream about.”

Kidd saw enough in Antetokounmpo's potential as a playmaker to use him at point guard in the 2014 Summer League and 2015 preseason but didn't really try it in the regular season under late last February.

“We didn’t talk about it,” Kidd says. “We didn’t make a big deal out of it. There was no pressure. We just wanted to try something different.”

“I’ve definitely become more serious,” Antetokounmpo says. “I have a franchise on my shoulders.”