While the loss certainly wasn’t what the Thunder wanted to see, it gives the team a chance to reset in mid-December as it did a year ago. Last year, the Thunder’s loss in the cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks was a bit of a wakeup call for the team and clearly helped provide some motivation for the rest of the year.

The 2025 NBA Cup Championship has arrived as Tuesday's matchup will see the New York Knicks facing the San Antonio Spurs.

Which brings us to the latest reports that the Bucks are telling teams they want to be buyers, not sellers, at the trade deadline. The first report came from the well-connected Eric Nehm, who covers the Bucks for The Athletic.

The Milwaukee Bucks know that they’re up against a timer in the race to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to commit his long-term future to the Cream City.

“The Athletic confirmed this week, they’ve done due diligence on the Sacramento Kings’ Zach LaVine recently [and have shown interest in him in the past],” Nehm reported.