Ranking the Bucks’ trade deadline deals in the Mike Budenholzer era
By Dalton Sell
Ranking the Bucks’ trade deadline deals in the Mike Budenholzer era – No. 3: The Serge Ibaka trade
On February 10, 2022, the Bucks acquired Serge Ibaka, two second round picks, and cash in a four-team deal with the LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Detroit Pistons. The Bucks sent out three players in the deal, including Donte DiVincenzo, Semi Ojeleye, and Rodney Hood.
When the deal went through, it was easy to see why the Bucks made this move. With Brook Lopez missing significant time due to a back procedure, Milwaukee needed another big body to give the team some insurance at the center position. Ibaka was the most reputable player available at that time, so swinging a trade for him made sense. Hood and Ojeleye were not in the rotation when the trade went down, so that did not hurt the Bucks much. Some were hesitant to move DiVincenzo at the time, but given that he did not sign a contract extension and had been dealing with an injury, it seemed feasible at that moment.
Unfortunately, the Ibaka experiment never worked out for the Bucks. The veteran scarcely played for Milwaukee and was taken out of the nightly rotation when Lopez made his return shortly after. He played just 22 total minutes for the Bucks in the playoffs last year and made little to no impact on the team. Hindsight is everything, but it certainly did not help that the Bucks traded DiVincenzo and were short on wing depth in the playoffs when Khris Middleton went down.
Still, even after serving as a spectator in the postseason, Ibaka agreed to re-sign with Milwaukee this offseason. However, the idea of Ibaka giving the Bucks some insurance at the center position was short-lived, as the veteran and management have agreed to find him a new home before the upcoming trade deadline. Simply put, things did not work out for Ibaka in Milwaukee at all.
The two second rounders that the Bucks received in this deal prevent it from being a huge blunder. It remains to be seen what the front office does with those picks, but they could be useful later on in a trade or to draft a valuable player. The roster spots that the Bucks freed up by acquiring Ibaka also cannot be ignored. They used them to sign DeAndre’ Bembry and Jevon Carter. Bembry’s time in Milwaukee was short-lived after he suffered a devastating injury last season, but Carter turned out to be a big pickup and is still with the team today. Getting Carter is the silver lining here, but as for the physical trade itself, the jury is still out on those picks, but Ibaka himself did not pan out.
Depending on what the Bucks do with those second round picks, this placement could switch with the next one on this list at some point.