Just In: Apparently Roy Hibbert Still In League

Jan 27, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert (55) fight for a loose ball during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 27, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert (55) fight for a loose ball during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 31, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh (21) shoots the ball over Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert (55) during the first quarte at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh (21) shoots the ball over Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert (55) during the first quarte at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports /

Shockingly, Roy Hibbert is still in the league. More shockingly is that he is now a Denver Nugget.

Minutes before the 3pm Eastern trade deadline, Nuggets finalize trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Roy Hibbert for a heavily protected second round pick, which Milwaukee reportedly may never see. Definitely not the glamorous trade many fans were hoping for Tim Conelly to pull off this season.

Wait – Roy Hibbert is still in the league?? Yes, it would appear so. (I know, you are just as surprised as I am). For some reason, it felt like that man fell off the face of the earth.

Looking at his stats for this season, the 30 year old once coveted center has been playing about 16 minutes a game.  His numbers are far down from his average double doubles, scoring only 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. My, how times have changed since he was playing with George in Indiana’s playoff runs.

Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets /

Denver Nuggets

it will be very interesting to hear Nugget GM Tim Connelly’s presser later today about the push for Paul George and what his plans are for Hibbert.
Most of what we are seeing indicates this was simply a cap move, i.e. the Moe Williams trade earlier this year. All in all, do not expect to see the big man seeing many minutes at all and instead, be a bench presence. Kind of what Mike Miller does for the Nuggets currently.

Since taking the job, Tim Connelly has not made a bad move, so Nuggets Nation will give him the benefit of a doubt here.  Our team is still widely intact that got us to the 8th seed and we feel confident that the Nuggets future remains bright in Tim’s hands. There is still no guarantee that the Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins experiment will pan out in New Orleans and it is expected for the Sacramento Kings to fall out of the race now that they are without their best player.

-Miked Up

Twitter: @mwilsonco