Proposed 3-Way Trade Sends Bucks 3-Time NBA Champion

Getty Kevon Looney

The Milwaukee Bucks don’t have many options for improving themselves via trade. They can’t add valuable rotation players to what they currently have via trade. Instead, they’d have to trade one of their own. Among the few players they can get is Kevon Looney.

The center, who has won three NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, 2018, and 2022, could find a new home this offseason. If his days are numbered, Brew Hoops’ Jackson Gross proposed a three-way trade that would send Looney to the Bucks. He outlined the following trade between the Bucks, Warriors, and Brooklyn Nets.

Bucks get: Looney

Warriors get: Bobby Portis

Nets get: Moses Moody

His deal also included multiple second-round picks being sent to both the Bucks and the Warriors.

He explained that the Bucks would acquire Looney “for defense and his willpower to not turn into former Marquette volleyball All-American Allie Barber when it comes to rebounding. Looney is a strong rebounder and will provide much-needed defensive effort off the Bucks’ bench.”

Looney may not be the most offensively gifted player, but he is a pro at grabbing offensive rebounds. During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 3.3 offensive boards a game. The Warriors cut his role down the following season, going from 23.9 minutes to 16.1.

Warriors Likely to Cut Kevon Looney: Report

The Warriors have crossed the NBA’s second tax apron. Considering how their season went, it’s in their best interest to cut down financially since they are not a contender.

One of the easiest ways to do this would be to cut Looney. He has one year left on a three-year, $22.5 million contract, and his last year is guaranteed for only $3 million. The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami revealed that it’s likely Looney will hit the market.

“I think the likeliest situation is that he’s cut, and he makes $3 million from [the Warriors], and he’s off looking for another spot — and there will be another spot for him in this league,” Kawakami said on the Warriors Plus Minus Podcast (transcribed by PHNX Sports’ Gerald Bourguet). “Teams are going to want him, again for a very low number, but they’re going to want him.”

If that’s how it goes, the Bucks could add him in free agency. Doing so would strengthen their frontcourt without having to sacrifice anyone. Note that the Bucks have also crossed the NBA’s second tax apron, so they would only have the veteran’s minimum to offer.

Kevon Looney’s Thoughts on His Future

Looney seems aware of the possibility that he may not stay in Golden State. Looney voiced his appreciation for his time with the Warriors, but knows that his future depends on what they want.

“The ball isn’t in my court,” Looney told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson. “I don’t have full control over my destiny, so I kind of have to play the waiting game, control what I can control. I’ve been here my whole career. I don’t know nothing else. You always want to finish what you started and be somewhere for your whole career, but I’ve been in this business long enough to know that’s not realistic. I’m preparing myself for whatever. My family’s out here, the Bay’s been great to me. They treat me like family, I grew up here.”

He added that he hasn’t pondered much about potentially hitting free agency.

“I haven’t really thought about it too far. I’m trying to see what they’re going to do first before I push the envelope and see what I want to do.”

Going to the Bucks puts him on a contender. There would be issues with spacing, but knowing Looney’s experience, he would likely do more harm than good.