WT: Giannis Antetokounmpo's Future With Bucks 'The Elephant In The Room' In NBA

[Brinbe]

The Brooklyn stuff just comes from them

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Again, who knows how it plays out, but this is gonna potentially be the most interesting plot to follow this summer

[ontnut]

OKC is the obvious answer, but I actually think IND should swing for the fences if they can. They're not the type of franchise to do so, but Hali/Siakam/Giannis is a real contender with pretty good fit on both sides of the ball. They've got some interesting young guys to send out, and have enough picks to make it work. Don't think they will do it, but I think they should.

HOU makes sense asset wise, but I think they view Amen Thompson as basically a Giannis lite - he'd be untouchable, and I don't see how they can both play together on the court, esp with the shooting woes of FVV/Jalen others (assuming Sengun is traded in this scenario). They'd need to replace FVV and Jalen with two elite shooters at the guard spots to have any chance. And probably need a stretch C too, not Adams. I don't see the fit there.

I hate to say it, but Lakers could be a great fit as a Lebron replacement when he retires, or if he's willing to take a vet min deal in his final season to go for a chip (unlikely).

Atlanta would actually be a pretty great fit alongside Trae and Daniels, but...doubt they have the assets to make it work. Jalen Johnson + picks/salary? I think that offer gets beat.

A CRAZY swap idea would be to PHI for Embiid and picks. Makes sense for PHI to keep a contention window open around Maxey/Giannis/George. MIL can go full tank for a season or two with Embiid then maybe flip him for a bit more down the line if he's every healthy.

I floated the idea of Booker for Giannis but couldn't find a way to make it work for both teams.

Spurs would be a sneaky destination as I think they have the combination of young guys and picks to make it work, but doubt it happens.

That's about all the teams off the top of my head that made sense. I mean Cavs for Mobley would make them better imo, but...I'm guessing they'd rather keep Mobley.

[JB7]

After playing in a small market for so many years, Giannis is going to demand to go to a large market with this trade, to a team ready to compete.

[mdenny]

I could see OKC giving up both jdubs AND chet.

Sga and giannis are both supermax players. Which means there's no room for a third max extension guy without going deep into second apron. And both jdubs and chet will get max extensions.

SGA + Giannis + role players and rookie contracts is a perennial chip contender.

Any small market with depth that is a top seed can't last more than 2 or 3 season windows because eventually everyone gets paid.

The future for OKC is not depth. Their best future is consolidating into two top 10 players.

Probably looking at jdub, chet, hartenstien, salary filler, picks. Houston can't match that package.

But in giving so much back in players....they will retain a healthy amount of picks they can use for trades to attain high end role players plus additional rookie contracts in filling out the roster.

Why would OKC need to overpay so much? No one can even come close to their offer and Chet/Jalen aren't getting paid until 2026-27, there's plenty of time to trade them before then.

That poster doesn't know what hes saying....They are not giving up both of their star players for Giannis when they do not need too...It would be Giannis replacing Chet thats it....They will be in no position to have to overpay since they have the most assets draft pick wise to give up....It will be Chet + Salary fillers + picks....

Tbh i doubt OKC even want Giannis if they make it far this year in the playoffs....They prolly just keep the guys they have and keep building on it with the Draft picks they have ....No need to rush a trade if you don't have too...

It is literally impossible for them to do that. Their current roster will cost 250 million 14 months from now.

And there is zero chance they could have 2 supermax guys plus a 3rd max guy lol. That's 165 million per year for 3 players.

[sidsid]

The teams with tons of assets are the obvious ones, but the desperate to contend camp are the teams with more motivation.

Brooklyn isn't the team ready for him, but the Knicks will be calling after the Towns experiment fails.

Towns and Bridges plus every swap on swap for firsts they can make would be the obvious play on the Knicks end.

[ArthurVandelay]

If he’s traded, Brooklyn is where he’ll end up imo

Really? Feels like Brooklyn would struggle to match salaries and still have a roster that could possibly win 30 games with Giannis.

If Milwaukee trades Giannis, they aren’t going to want matching salary. Brooklyn only team in league with considerable cap space.

Plus Nets have a tonne of draft picks

[ArthurVandelay]

If he’s traded, Brooklyn is where he’ll end up imo

Why do you say Brooklyn?

Major market
Cap space
Draft picks

[DreamTeam09]

What I am saying is the proposed trade I had made is what it would take to beat out OKC or Houston in a bidding war (not that OKC is going to top it), without including the likes of Barnes + our unprotected picks + Ja'Kobe this trade does not get done because we would easily get beat in a bidding war.

What beats RJ + Dick + picks in this hypothetical bidding war ?
Or what team would top that with what players?

Why would they want RJ? I don't think you realize that he's at best, a neutral asset with his contract. In a world where we are competing in a trade scenario without involving Scottie, this is what OKC could offer:

Philly pick this year (top 5 protected)
Hawks pick this year, no protection
Utah pick next year, top 8 protected
Dallas or Philly pick in 2026, no protection
2027 Pacers or Heat pick, no protection
2028 Milwaukee pick (No protection)
2028 Utah pick (no protection)

The above is just half of the assets the Thunder posses, I can go on but the list is very long and I am at work lol. Think about it, if the Bucks trade Giannis, they are likely tanking, and the Thunder can trade back the Bucks' unprotected 2028 draft pick that the Thunder own. There is no way in hell you would compete with the above trade package involving RJ, Dick, etc. It's not even a conversation starter.

I'm not arguing the assets or draft picks that OKC has, but even you didn't pitch any of the outgoing salaries in this hypothetical trade

[TheRaptor!]

If we give away assets to make a competitive offer for Giannis, he will come here with no one to play with, I don't think this is the right time to swing for a superstar. Let's keep adding talent until we are deep enough to trade for a star player + have enough remaining to contend with.

Pistons are competing with

Schroder, Beasley, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway

We'll be fine.

[brownbobcat]

The trade would happen this summer. The Thunder have to extend chet and jdubs this summer. They're only next season away from having to pay 85 to 90 million on their cap just to keep jdubs and chet. The summer after that they have to resign Shae to the supermax.

They don't have to extend them this summer, they'll both be RFAs after next summer and they can either move them at the deadline or do a S&T in the 2027 offseason.

Ppl are mistaken when they assume okc can just keep all their guys and continue to add depth. They can't.

That's gonna be approx 150 million for 3 players.

They are way better off having Giannis/Sga for 120 million than they are having jdub/chet/sga for 150 million.

Those are completely unrelated matters. Just because they can't have 4 guys signed to a max doesn't mean they need to move them out for Giannis. No one else comes close to their draft assets. No one else comes close to having 2 cheap young stars like Chet/JDub available for a trade. This is Presti, not Nico Harrison. There's absolutely zero reason for OKC to move BOTH stars AND picks for Giannis when there isn't a team in the league who could even match either one.

You could trade picks/Hartenstein/Cason/picks/filler for Giannis and still retain Chet/JDub for a future trade. Those guys don't get paid until 2026/27, SGA doesn't go on the next supermax tier until 2027/28 and neither does Giannis. All of OKC's other pieces are extremely moveable, I don't think you understand how masterfully constructed their team is.

[tsherkin]

If he’s traded, Brooklyn is where he’ll end up imo

Why do you say Brooklyn?

Major market
Cap space
Draft picks

But

1) Why would Giannis care about the market?
2) What about Brooklyn's bungling history?

[brownbobcat]

If he’s traded, Brooklyn is where he’ll end up imo

Really? Feels like Brooklyn would struggle to match salaries and still have a roster that could possibly win 30 games with Giannis.

If Milwaukee trades Giannis, they aren’t going to want matching salary. Brooklyn only team in league with considerable cap space.

Plus Nets have a tonne of draft picks

What is Milwaukee going to do with cap space without Giannis? They're not Miami, cap space is pointless.

[Raps in 4]

After playing in a small market for so many years, Giannis is going to demand to go to a large market with this trade, to a team ready to compete.

None of the large markets have the assets to trade for him, or if they do, they aren't ready to compete.

LAL and NYK have no picks left in this decade, nor do they have any noteworthy prospects.

Miami can trade for him, but they aren't ready to compete, and won't be any time soon.

Same goes for Brooklyn.

[ArthurVandelay]

Really? Feels like Brooklyn would struggle to match salaries and still have a roster that could possibly win 30 games with Giannis.

If Milwaukee trades Giannis, they aren’t going to want matching salary. Brooklyn only team in league with considerable cap space.

Plus Nets have a tonne of draft picks

What is Milwaukee going to do with cap space without Giannis? They're not Miami, cap space is pointless.

It’s about getting them under the luxury tax. They are hemorrhaging money losing tens of millions for multiple seasons and facing repeater tax.

Also this isn’t a franchise with a soaring multiple valuation. They were bought for $3.5B in 2023.

[tecumseh18]

The Brooklyn stuff just comes from them

...

Again, who knows how it plays out, but this is gonna potentially be the most interesting plot to follow this summer

But what about the Knicks? If the Bucks decide they want to stay relevant, why not KAT for Giannis? I know who Thibs would prefer to see on defence.

OTOH, Dame and KAT would, uh ... at least be exciting.

[mdenny]

The trade would happen this summer. The Thunder have to extend chet and jdubs this summer. They're only next season away from having to pay 85 to 90 million on their cap just to keep jdubs and chet. The summer after that they have to resign Shae to the supermax.

They don't have to extend them this summer, they'll both be RFAs after next summer and they can either move them at the deadline or do a S&T in the 2027 offseason.

Ppl are mistaken when they assume okc can just keep all their guys and continue to add depth. They can't.

That's gonna be approx 150 million for 3 players.

They are way better off having Giannis/Sga for 120 million than they are having jdub/chet/sga for 150 million.

Those are completely unrelated matters. Just because they can't have 4 guys signed to a max doesn't mean they need to move them out for Giannis. No one else comes close to their draft assets. No one else comes close to having 2 cheap young stars like Chet/JDub available for a trade. This is Presti, not Nico Harrison. There's absolutely zero reason for OKC to move BOTH stars AND picks for Giannis when there isn't a team in the league who could even match either one.

You could trade picks/Hartenstein/Cason/picks/filler for Giannis and still retain Chet/JDub for a future trade. Those guys don't get paid until 2026/27, SGA doesn't go on the next supermax tier until 2027/28 and neither does Giannis. All of OKC's other pieces are extremely moveable, I don't think you understand how masterfully constructed their team is.

The Bucks aren't gonna trade giannis for a bunch of late/mid first round picks and salary filler.

And it's a certainty that OKC extends Chet and Williams this summer. Can you cite any recent examples where such a player on their rookie contract didn't extend in the summer before their 4th season?

Think about the risk it poses to the player. One injury away from losing hundreds of millions of dollars. To not agree to an extension would be a VERY antagonistic stance against the player.

Here are the list of players from the class before that signed extensions last summer:

Barnes, Mobley, franz, suggs, Jalen Johnson, Jaden harvey, Cade, green, sengun, murphey.

Or in other words. All of them who are starter level players. I think giddey was the one exception who didn't sign an extension but that's because he was traded.

[mdenny]

OKC is the obvious answer, but I actually think IND should swing for the fences if they can. They're not the type of franchise to do so, but Hali/Siakam/Giannis is a real contender with pretty good fit on both sides of the ball. They've got some interesting young guys to send out, and have enough picks to make it work. Don't think they will do it, but I think they should.

HOU makes sense asset wise, but I think they view Amen Thompson as basically a Giannis lite - he'd be untouchable, and I don't see how they can both play together on the court, esp with the shooting woes of FVV/Jalen others (assuming Sengun is traded in this scenario). They'd need to replace FVV and Jalen with two elite shooters at the guard spots to have any chance. And probably need a stretch C too, not Adams. I don't see the fit there.

I hate to say it, but Lakers could be a great fit as a Lebron replacement when he retires, or if he's willing to take a vet min deal in his final season to go for a chip (unlikely).

Atlanta would actually be a pretty great fit alongside Trae and Daniels, but...doubt they have the assets to make it work. Jalen Johnson + picks/salary? I think that offer gets beat.

A CRAZY swap idea would be to PHI for Embiid and picks. Makes sense for PHI to keep a contention window open around Maxey/Giannis/George. MIL can go full tank for a season or two with Embiid then maybe flip him for a bit more down the line if he's every healthy.

I floated the idea of Booker for Giannis but couldn't find a way to make it work for both teams.

Spurs would be a sneaky destination as I think they have the combination of young guys and picks to make it work, but doubt it happens.

That's about all the teams off the top of my head that made sense. I mean Cavs for Mobley would make them better imo, but...I'm guessing they'd rather keep Mobley.

I didn't even think about the Spurs but you are right in that they could put together a decent package.

Imagine wemby and giannis together. Damn.

[Brinbe]

The Brooklyn stuff just comes from them

...

Again, who knows how it plays out, but this is gonna potentially be the most interesting plot to follow this summer

But what about the Knicks? If the Bucks decide they want to stay relevant, why not KAT for Giannis? I know who Thibs would prefer to see on defence.

OTOH, Dame and KAT would, uh ... at least be exciting.

I don't think they'll do that. KAT and Leon Rose are like Nico and AD. The Knicks are all CAA.

[ontnut]

OKC is the obvious answer, but I actually think IND should swing for the fences if they can. They're not the type of franchise to do so, but Hali/Siakam/Giannis is a real contender with pretty good fit on both sides of the ball. They've got some interesting young guys to send out, and have enough picks to make it work. Don't think they will do it, but I think they should.

HOU makes sense asset wise, but I think they view Amen Thompson as basically a Giannis lite - he'd be untouchable, and I don't see how they can both play together on the court, esp with the shooting woes of FVV/Jalen others (assuming Sengun is traded in this scenario). They'd need to replace FVV and Jalen with two elite shooters at the guard spots to have any chance. And probably need a stretch C too, not Adams. I don't see the fit there.

I hate to say it, but Lakers could be a great fit as a Lebron replacement when he retires, or if he's willing to take a vet min deal in his final season to go for a chip (unlikely).

Atlanta would actually be a pretty great fit alongside Trae and Daniels, but...doubt they have the assets to make it work. Jalen Johnson + picks/salary? I think that offer gets beat.

A CRAZY swap idea would be to PHI for Embiid and picks. Makes sense for PHI to keep a contention window open around Maxey/Giannis/George. MIL can go full tank for a season or two with Embiid then maybe flip him for a bit more down the line if he's every healthy.

I floated the idea of Booker for Giannis but couldn't find a way to make it work for both teams.

Spurs would be a sneaky destination as I think they have the combination of young guys and picks to make it work, but doubt it happens.

That's about all the teams off the top of my head that made sense. I mean Cavs for Mobley would make them better imo, but...I'm guessing they'd rather keep Mobley.

I didn't even think about the Spurs but you are right in that they could put together a decent package.

Imagine wemby and giannis together. Damn.

Fox, Wemby and Giannis as a 3 would be crazy. Twin towers on defence, and then how the hell do you even guard them on offense? Pack the paint vs Giannis, and you have a giant just launching 3's that nobody can guard. Put Wemby in the paint, and you have to single guard him because he can just dish to a cutting Giannis, who you then have to double, and it's a swing to a wide open 3 somewhere. In the post, Wemby's just shooting over everyone - wouldn't surprise me if he avg'd 70% on those touches. Imagine PnR with those 2? lol...It would be nuts. Nevermind running the break with the speed/agility of all 3 of those guys.

Vassell + Castle + a re-signed Sochan to make salaries work, and the Spurs have 24 picks (mostly 2nds but they have 8 first rounders over the next 7 years, so could concievably trade 4 firsts I think?) and a ton of seconds if they need to.

They'd have to fill a couple shooter holes after the trade, but Fox/Branham/Barnes/Giannis/Wemby looks pretty solid even as is. Barnes is expiring so they could concievably sign some FA's to fill holes around their big 3 because Wemby still has another year on his rookie scale. Scary thought.

[wegotthabeet]

What will it take to land Giannis?

Scottie, Dick and picks.

Scottie dick pics? Well if that’s all it takes then get ‘er done.