Spurs and Bucks

[BK_2020]

At Giannis age he isn't netting all that, especially not from a young team like the Spurs. In particular, it seems implausible that the Bucks would get Harper.

Well, Giannis is going into his age 31 season and an MVP-candidate-level player. Let's look at some comparable transactions.
Harden to Brooklyn. Going into his age 31 season. Rockets received 4 FRP and 4 swaps.
KD to Phoenix. Going into his age 34 season. The Nets received Cam Johnson, Bridges, and 4 FRP and a swap.
AD to Dallas. In the middle of his age 31 season. The Lakers received Luka Doncic.
I think Harper is more than within range.

The only one of those trades which moved a prospect as good as Harper was the Luka trade, agreed by all to be terrible. In fact all those trades were regarded as bad in hindsight.

You think Harper would fetch 4 picks and 4 swaps right now? Or Cam Johnson, Bridges, 4 picks and a swap?

[One_and_Done]

I mean, I could certainly have seem some teams offering that much for the #2 pick when the Spurs had it, yeh. It’s also not just about “would the Spurs get that exact package” of 4 picks, Cam, and Bridges. Maybe they wouldn’t. But then they wouldn’t be trading him either. Sometimes the value doesn’t make sense for either team.

The Suns overpaid for KD because they were desperate for a win-now move. Obviously, Harper is not a win-now player, so the team is going to have a different mindset. I also think it’s odd to use the KD trade as a point of comparison, when people generally see it as having been a very bad trade in hindsight (if not at the time). The Spurs are a smart organisation. They’re not going to make such a bad trade, and they certainly don’t have any reason to when they have a young team that isn’t ready to win a title yet.

Whether Harper lives up to the hype remains to be seen, but he’s a guy who likely would have gone #1 in quite a few recent drafts based on how players were perceived at the time, e.g. 24, 22, 17, 16, 14, 13, etc). You don’t trade that kind of prospect for a soon to be 31 year old star, and you especially don’t when that guy is not a guy whose skillset will necessarily age well into his mid-late 30s. You definitely don’t when your team is so young.

If Bucks fans want more for Giannis, they need to look for more desperate teams. The Spurs might just not be a good match, because they are clearly not desperate. If I was the Spurs I wouldn’t even want to include Carter Bryant, though they’d probably have to.

[Scoot McGroot]

Giannis has been top 4 in MVP for 7 straight seasons, including his most recent year. We need to remember that he is still absolutely on the top of his game. He’s one of the biggest impact players that could be traded over the last 20 years.

[One_and_Done]

Giannis has been top 4 in MVP for 7 straight seasons, including his most recent year. We need to remember that he is still absolutely on the top of his game. He’s one of the biggest impact players that could be traded over the last 20 years.

He's a great player. He's also 31, and the Spurs aren't ready to win a title.

[Scoot McGroot]

Giannis has been top 4 in MVP for 7 straight seasons, including his most recent year. We need to remember that he is still absolutely on the top of his game. He’s one of the biggest impact players that could be traded over the last 20 years.

He's a great player. He's also 31, and the Spurs aren't ready to win a title.

Kevin Durant is 37. LeBron James is almost 41. It’s highly likely that Giannis is a premiere, MVP to high all star level player for at least 5 more years, no? Could he for….8 more years? I wouldn’t be shocked.

And why can’t a Giannis/Wemby combo win a championship as soon as this year? They surely wouldn’t deal all 3 of Castle, Fox, and Harper, so there’s another “premiere guard” there. They have so many assets that even when they deal the required many for Giannis, they will have some left.

[One_and_Done]

Giannis has been top 4 in MVP for 7 straight seasons, including his most recent year. We need to remember that he is still absolutely on the top of his game. He’s one of the biggest impact players that could be traded over the last 20 years.

He's a great player. He's also 31, and the Spurs aren't ready to win a title.

Kevin Durant is 37. LeBron James is almost 41. It’s highly likely that Giannis is a premiere, MVP to high all star level player for at least 5 more years, no? Could he for….8 more years? I wouldn’t be shocked.

And why can’t a Giannis/Wemby combo win a championship as soon as this year? They surely wouldn’t deal all 3 of Castle, Fox, and Harper, so there’s another “premiere guard” there. They have so many assets that even when they deal the required many for Giannis, they will have some left.

KDs impact comes from his high level of skill, particularly his shooting. Lebron is a unique combination of athleticism and skill, and I wouldn't want to compare anyone to his unprecedented aging curve. Giannis is a bit different. He dominates primarily through athletic ability. If that goes, then what? It's hard to say, because he's a unique player where the parallels aren't clear. He won't be able to fall back on his shooting though.

Giannis is also starting to miss more games to injury. It's not at a concerning level yet, but I don't know if he's likely to be an MVP calibre player in 3-4 years. That's not insulting to Giannis, it's just rare for a guy who is 34-35 years old to be an MVP type player to begin with.

[Scoot McGroot]

He's a great player. He's also 31, and the Spurs aren't ready to win a title.

Kevin Durant is 37. LeBron James is almost 41. It’s highly likely that Giannis is a premiere, MVP to high all star level player for at least 5 more years, no? Could he for….8 more years? I wouldn’t be shocked.

And why can’t a Giannis/Wemby combo win a championship as soon as this year? They surely wouldn’t deal all 3 of Castle, Fox, and Harper, so there’s another “premiere guard” there. They have so many assets that even when they deal the required many for Giannis, they will have some left.

KDs impact comes from his high level of skill, particularly his shooting. Lebron is a unique combination of athleticism and skill, and I wouldn't want to compare anyone to his unprecedented aging curve. Giannis is a bit different. He dominates primarily through athletic ability. If that goes, then what? It's hard to say, because he's a unique player where the parallels aren't clear. He won't be able to fall back on his shooting though.

Giannis is also starting to miss more games to injury. It's not at a concerning level yet, but I don't know if he's likely to be an MVP calibre player in 3-4 years. That's not insulting to Giannis, it's just rare for a guy who is 34-35 years old to be an MVP type player to begin with.

He played 67 games last year. And of the guys who received any votes for MVP, only Shai, Harden, and Edwards played "substantially" more games than him? Everyone else played between 65 and 72 games total. He missed 15 games. The year before, he missed 9.

In this era, guys miss games? Very few play 82. I wouldn't read too much into Giannis? I mean, in spite of those missed games, he was still viewed as one of the 4 best players in the league?

I totally agree his shooting won't save him. But he's also VERY skilled. He's not just a big huge monster. His talents with the ball in his hand really set him apart.

Either way, I really doubt that anyone will be able to "pay less" for Giannis because he's 31. If SA doesn't want to pay the necessary price, others will.

[One_and_Done]

Then go to others I guess.

Again, I don't see a parallel in NBA history where a trade like this worked out well.