Ibaka wants out and Bucks are trying to accomodate him in a trade.
https://www.si.com/nba/raptors...t-by-milwaukee-bucks
Seems like a guy that is washed up but doesn't want to accept a deep bench role. The Clippers and the Bucks have both moved on quickly within the last 12 months.
Maybe they can package him with something else as salary cap filler.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I had forgotten he's on the team. I haven't seen him in a game at all this year.
Not directly Bucks related, but absolutely hilarious.
Kyrie Irving has just requested a trade.
Kyrie is the funniest man in sports. Period!
Kevin Durant got hurt on January 8th. He's due back sometime this month.
In the 20 games before KD was hurt, the Nets were 18-2 and looked like a potential juggernaut. Kyrie can't say they aren't capable of winning. Even with Durant out and a terrible start before they fired Nash, they are on pace to win 50 games.
Who does he think the Nets are going to trade him to? If he keeps his mouth shut and plays the rest of the year, he'll get the same money in the off-season as he will forcing a trade now.
He probably wants to go to LA. Are the Nets really going to take Westbrook back for him? If they do, are the Lakers going to throw in at least 2 first round picks from 2027 and 2029? There are almost no other trade destinations that work.
Plus, he's just an idiot in general.
By the way, I'd love to see Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons on the same team making about 90 million. At least Westbrook could get his shot numbers up.
@MichiganPacker posted:By the way, I'd love to see Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons on the same team making about 90 million. At least Westbrook could get his shot numbers up.
Simmons might like the trade. Westbrook will never pass to him. Not when he is spitting shots up at will.
I’d almost feel bad for the Nets but they have no one to blame but themselves. Kyrie is the biggest flake in professional sports. You add in his kooky behavior and it’s just simply not worth it.
@Tschmack posted:I’d almost feel bad for the Nets but they have no one to blame but themselves. Kyrie is the biggest flake in professional sports. You add in his kooky behavior and it’s just simply not worth it.
Somebody will panic and trade for him.
If the Lakers could get him for minimal assets other than Westbrook, they'd do it this second. Both are on expiring contracts. The holdup which of their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks they have to include to sweeten the deal. LeBron is probably behind the scenes pushing them to send both out. He could care less what the Lakers are like in 2030 and beyond.
The Mavs must be starting to panic on Luka. They can't find another star to pair with him. They tried Porzingis, but that fizzled out. Brunson is a second-tier guy and was a good pairing with him, but they lost Brunson for nothing. As good as Mark Cuban is as a player-friendly owner, he still may want out if they can't really compete. But who are they sending back for Irving that the Nets would even want?
I think those are the most two likely destinations if he goes.
The darkhorse is Miami. Pat Riley is always working behind the scenes in this situations. The Heat know they aren't a title team right now and they are always win now. There are some wild trades that work between these teams.
How about this one? The Nets dump Simmons and Kyrie and get back Herro (the key to any deal with the Heat), and take on Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and Oladipo. The Nets get out from both terrible deals and get a top 20 offensive player back and a great 3 point shooter (Robinson) for spacing. Oladipo is just salary filler. Lowry is expensive, but his contract is one year less than Simmons. Durant, Lowry, Herro, Claxton, Harris, Duncan Robinson, and Oladipo is not a bad rotation for the Nets.
Simmons, Adebayo, and Butler would provide elite wing defense for the Heat and Irving could create on the offensive end.
The Lakers would be the obvious choice I think. The current LAL squad isn’t championship level, but Irving would actually be the perfect fit for them. They need offense and scoring in the backcourt big time.
The funny thing is the Nets don’t have to trade him. To me, if those 2 firsts aren’t part of a trade it’s no deal.
The earth is flat! The moon landing was faked.
Happy Hanukkah Kyrie.
Please trade me
Kyrie goes to the Mavs for Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, and a first round pick in 2029 (and some 2nd rounders).
The Mavs may average 140, but they may give up 150. Doncic, Irving, Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, and Tim Hardaway Jr. as a starting five.
Luka and Kyrie could be spectacularly bad as a pairing in the long-run, but the media will salivate over this for the next couple of months. Not sure there are enough possessions to satisfy both their egos.
Boo hoo LeBron doesn’t get his wish
@Tschmack posted:Boo boo LeBron doesn’t get his wish
Laker supposedly offered Westbrook and 1 first-round pick.
In the end LeBron is going to be pissed, KD has to be pissed, and Luka might end up with the worst of it all when Kyrie inevitably has his next meltdown.
I mean, it’s all hilarious
Cuban is brilliant but he hired Jason Kidd as HC. Now he trades for arguably the most enigmatic player in NBA history? Why
The Mavs need rebounding and defense not another scorer that doesn’t play any D.
Durant is the player version of Cuban. Had he stayed with Golden State they likely win another ring or two. Now you will be known as the guy that recruited Kyrie to Brooklyn only to burn it all down?
And yes, I do love that LeBron didn’t get his way. He needs to own that Westbrook bullshit.
Rumors of the Celtics talking about acquiring Kevin Durant now that Kyrie has been sent out for a couple of (good) role players.
Thought it was just sports media talk until Jaylen Brown just showed up on an injury report tonight as being questionable with an illness.
If they have Durant and Tatum just hand them the title today.
@Goalline posted:If they have Durant and Tatum just hand them the title today.
If they could get Durant without giving up Jaylen Brown, yes.
The Bucks are the only team that is going to scare them in the East either way. You have to have elite individual defensive players. Holiday is as good as it gets. Matthews can give you 15 minutes of tough defense. Giannis is obviously elite. Middleton is no pushover.
The Celtics still have to guard Giannis. And if Middleton is healthy, it's not as easy to say you are going to let the Bucks other players beat you. In the games the Bucks lost in last year's playoff series they went 3-18, 9-27, 7-29, and 4-33 from three. The Bucks aren't going 23 for 107 if Middleton is taking 30 of those 107 shots instead.
How much better is Durant than Brown right now? Obviously, KD is a better player, but it's not like Brown is dogshit. KD is a first-ballot HOFer, top 15 player all time. But Brown is on a HOF trajectory as well.
If I'm the Nets I make the trade. You get a 25 year old guy who is averaging 27 a night right now for a 34 year old guy with knee and Achilles problems. You'
If you are the Celtics, you make the trade because it's Kevin Freaking Durant. But you are throwing away another 5-6 years of Tatum/Brown in their primes together to get 1-2 years of KD? I'd understand if you were a middle of the pack team, but the Celtics are good enough to win it all without blowing up their future.
Brown for Durant straight up doesn't work. The Celtics have to throw in another 8-10 million in salary. Durant for Brown, Grant Williams (who the Celtics don't want to extend anyway), and throwing in Gallinari works.
If the Celtics have to give up Brown and one of their key bigs like Grant Williams I’m not sure that’s a good move for Boston.
Combined, those two are giving you almost 40PPG and Williams is shooting 40%+ from 3. Both guys are also sturdy defenders. So while Durant may give you the offensive trade off, collectively their defense gets worse. Williams also gives you another big to throw at Giannis. You trade him, and it will force them to play Horford a lot more minutes and that’s not a good proposition.
Besides, if the goal is beating Milwaukee then you have to get there defensively and you need big men that can give away a lot of fouls and slow down Giannis. What makes Boston so challenging is they have several bigs and Grant Williams is important because unlike Robert Williams GW can hit shots so the Bucks can’t just leave him alone.
The other thing is the Bucks are the rare team that has plenty of + level defenders and rebounders. Allen is probably the only guy that doesn’t give you at least average to above average D.
@MichiganPacker posted:If they could get Durant without giving up Jaylen Brown, yes.
The Bucks are the only team that is going to scare them in the East either way. You have to have elite individual defensive players. Holiday is as good as it gets. Matthews can give you 15 minutes of tough defense. Giannis is obviously elite. Middleton is no pushover.
The Celtics still have to guard Giannis. And if Middleton is healthy, it's not as easy to say you are going to let the Bucks other players beat you. In the games the Bucks lost in last year's playoff series they went 3-18, 9-27, 7-29, and 4-33 from three. The Bucks aren't going 23 for 107 if Middleton is taking 30 of those 107 shots instead.
How much better is Durant than Brown right now? Obviously, KD is a better player, but it's not like Brown is dogshit. KD is a first-ballot HOFer, top 15 player all time. But Brown is on a HOF trajectory as well.
If I'm the Nets I make the trade. You get a 25 year old guy who is averaging 27 a night right now for a 34 year old guy with knee and Achilles problems. You'
If you are the Celtics, you make the trade because it's Kevin Freaking Durant. But you are throwing away another 5-6 years of Tatum/Brown in their primes together to get 1-2 years of KD? I'd understand if you were a middle of the pack team, but the Celtics are good enough to win it all without blowing up their future.
Brown for Durant straight up doesn't work. The Celtics have to throw in another 8-10 million in salary. Durant for Brown, Grant Williams (who the Celtics don't want to extend anyway), and throwing in Gallinari works.
KD is enough better and enough different from the other Celtics players to give them a real edge.
If you knew Durant could stay 100% healthy a combo of Tatum and KD with that supporting cast would be pretty formidable. However, you reduce the long term viability of that squad because realistically it’s a 2 year window v 4 years (or more) with Tatum and Brown.
If it results in a championship then it’s worth it but Milwaukee will be in the mix this year and next for sure. I’m not sure the current Boston team as assembled can’t do the same thing, especially if Brown and Tatum play at a high level.
@Tschmack posted:If you knew Durant could stay 100% healthy a combo of Tatum and KD with that supporting cast would be pretty formidable. However, you reduce the long term viability of that squad because realistically it’s a 2 year window v 4 years (or more) with Tatum and Brown.
If it results in a championship then it’s worth it but Milwaukee will be in the mix this year and next for sure. I’m not sure the current Boston team as assembled can’t do the same thing, especially if Brown and Tatum play at a high level.
The Bucks scare the Celtics more than any other team in the East.
In the 7 games, last year Giannis just ran out of gas in Game 7 and struggled. He had his worst game of the series and still went for 25-20-9. He had 9 assists despite the fact the Bucks went 3 for 29 from three. Many of those were open shots created by Giannis. If they hit 25% for the game, it looks a lot different.
So, Giannis averaged 34/15/7 with no Middleton. The Bucks four main shooters in that game were all well below their 3 point career percentages. Holiday is 37% for his career and shot 30%. Portis is a 38% career guy and shot 23%. Lopez shot 8% and is a career 34% guy. Allen was at 21% and is a career 40% guy.
The Celtics 3 complementary guys all hit their 3s at the normal career percentages (Horford and Grant Williams) or above their average (Smart was at 39% in the series vs. 33% career).
In other words, other than Giannis everything went wrong for the Bucks on offense and they were without their second best player. Everything went right for the Celtics on offense and they still needed 7 games.
I think that's what is driving the Celtics exploring the trade route for KD. They aren't really sure that they can beat the Bucks if they are at full strength. Right now, it's the same matchup as last year with each team adding one extra guy. The Celtics have added Brogdon and the Bucks at Middleton. That's a huge advantage for the Bucks.
Of course, if Giannis starts knocking down mid-range shots at even an average rate, no one is beating the Bucks. But I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Gonna need to print new programs all over the league….might want to wait a few hours tho, more changes to come.
I would watch for Toronto. Lots of rumors about Van Vleet and Siakam and OG Anunoby possibly being on the move. All three of those guys are under contract for one more year albeit Van Vleet has a player option after this year and OG has 2 years left including a player option in 2024/2025.
Van Vleet would be the perfect compliment for a team that’s looking for a shooter and his salary is reasonable but there’s risk as he could choose to not exercise his option after this year.
Toronto just traded for Poeltl.
Who's going to guard anyone for the Suns?
Ibaka has to be headed somewhere today even if it's just for cash considerations. The Suns actually would be a good fit because they traded every 3 and D guy they had and needed someone to back up Ayton even before that.
Dallas and Phoenix just want to outscore everyone.
No way they get past a team like Boston or Milwaukee or maybe even Miami or Philly playing like that.
@Tschmack posted:Dallas and Phoenix just want to outscore everyone.
No way they get past a team like Boston or Milwaukee or maybe even Miami or Philly playing like that.
If Memphis can get right again (Ja Morant's entourage sounds like a major headache), they'll give these teams problems. They have elite defensive players at several positions (kind of like the Bucks).
There it is.
5 second round picks for Crowder. I would think a current player on their roster would be traded to make the cap numbers work, but that hasn't been announced yet.
Good stuff.
Did they trade Grayson yet?
CUT OFF MY FINGER TO SAVE MY HAND… 99 BACK AGAIN.!! 😈😈😈😈🫡
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) February 9, 2023
@"We"-Ka-Bong posted:Did they trade Grayson yet?
Hill, Nwora, Ibaka all traded to Indiana per JSO
Bulls appear close to waving the white flag for the year. The Nets obviously did already.
@ilcuqui posted:Hill, Nwora, Ibaka all traded to Indiana per JSO
From Shams. This looks like the completion of the Crowder deal.
I love how some people on twitter are saying the Bucks gave up too much. They traded guys that won't play in a playoff series and 5 second-round picks. Nobody really gives a crap about s picks. They essentially traded nothing of real value for Crowder.
They unloaded the trash and future trash. Good move.
If the Bucks ended up playing Ibaka or Hill or Nwora in the postseason that would be a serous problem as it would mean several other key guys probably got hurt.
To get Crowder without giving up anyone of value (including Grayson Allen) was brilliant. Crowder and Allen may not play major minutes in the playoffs, but depending on the opponent they will likely see some action in the postseason. Crowder is a guy that can defend multiple positions and he shoots at pretty well for a big man.
It sounds like some other teams were hot on the trail for Crowder as well (ie Miami).
Indiana acquired point guard George Hill from Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hill, a 15-year veteran, averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 assists in 35 games this season
