Haynes: Giannis, Bucks Meeting Next Week to Discuss the Direction of the Team

[doogie_hauser]

Why not trade Tatum for Giannis?

Would need to get the MIL26swap back from Pels but it could be win-win for Boston and Bucks. Bucks tank in 25-26 and then have Lillard+Tatum for 26-27 with a minor rebuild.

You don't trade franchise icons like Tatum, even if he is out for next season. He is not a good fit for us imo. Besides he wants to play in New York or Florida it seems. Brooklyn bound I am sure of it.

Yes I also think Brooklyn bound.

Nets can take either of KP or Jrue off your hands too. Which do you think Giannis prefers to be paired with?

Jrue cause he is far more durable and won a chip with Giannis previously

[Castle Black]

Giannis might be stuck.

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[CharityStripe34]

Giannis might be stuck.

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Not exactly breaking news. They're not just going to give him away if he even requests to be traded.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Giannis might be stuck.

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they have no leverage. He's been loyal, the fans back him and understand why'd he'd want to leave and he's asking nicely. If he wants out and has a few teams in particular he's demanding, they had better get it done while he's being friendly because if they play hardball their asking price will plummet.

[John Murdoch]

I read that it takes 12 months to recover from the injury Lillard has and when he comes back he'll need time to shake off any rust. That means he'll be 36 years old and on the last year of his contract (58 million).

What team has money to pay him, contracts to match, and an asset to give to Milwaukee?

Utah

Why would Utah be interested in a 36 year old Lillard?

Because their half a decade tank has got them no where

[Mamba81p]

Giannis might be stuck.

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Not exactly breaking news. They're not just going to give him away if he even requests to be traded.

We know that in these cases the players eventually get what they want. Maybe not the exact destination they want(dame) or when they want(KD) but the end is inevitable unless bucks start winning a lot when the RS starts which is impossible

[seren]

The earliest Giannis can opt out is in two years. Bucks have the cards. Giannis can ask out but he can’t dictate where he wants to go. What is he going to do? Sit out the next two year?

[TeamTragic]

Horst is going to strong arm Giannis?

Good luck with that Bucks!

[RRyder823]

People talking themselves into thinking the Bucks aren't going to be demanding AND getting a kings ransom for Giannis "if" he requests a trade are truly delusional.

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[Dan Z]

Utah

Why would Utah be interested in a 36 year old Lillard?

Because their half a decade tank has got them no where

You think an old player (coming off a major injury) is the answer?

[th87]

What's there to discuss? The team is on a downward trajectory and they're moving fast. Milwaukee isn't a Free Agent destination, their only trade asset is Giannis, there is no path to improve.

The best thing for the Bucks is to trade Giannis and move on

They are going to end up trading Giannis, because he probably wants to be traded, but the ideal scenario for Milwaukee would be keeping him and retooling around him as best they can, even if that doesn't lead to contention. When you're one of the less attractive free agent destinations and you have a Top 3 player who the fans love, and you're in the playoffs every year, you hold on to that.

I think there was definitely a path to do this before Lillard got injured. The problem with everyone’s rush to trade Giannis is that the Bucks literally can’t rebuild because the Pelicans control their picks the next 2 years and the Blazers the next 3 years after that. So it’s not just simple as trading Giannis for picks and young players.

They're swaps, and those teams suck. Might not even convey.

[KGtabake]

The earliest Giannis can opt out is in two years. Bucks have the cards. Giannis can ask out but he can’t dictate where he wants to go. What is he going to do? Sit out the next two year?

He can easily stop performing at the level you see until he gets what he wants. Sit out of games due to "injury" or "rest".
He knows that even if they're bad, they won't have picks to capitalize a bad season.
I'm not saying he will do that(i doubt since Giannis doesn't seem like that guy plus i think he wants all NBA honors every season) but you never know.
That's a star driven league.
If they try to be tough, he will leave them when he's 32 and they won't get anything back (and they still won't have picks).

All these are just scenarios. He hasn't asked out(yet).

[Dan Z]

They are going to end up trading Giannis, because he probably wants to be traded, but the ideal scenario for Milwaukee would be keeping him and retooling around him as best they can, even if that doesn't lead to contention. When you're one of the less attractive free agent destinations and you have a Top 3 player who the fans love, and you're in the playoffs every year, you hold on to that.

I think there was definitely a path to do this before Lillard got injured. The problem with everyone’s rush to trade Giannis is that the Bucks literally can’t rebuild because the Pelicans control their picks the next 2 years and the Blazers the next 3 years after that. So it’s not just simple as trading Giannis for picks and young players.

They're swaps, and those teams suck. Might not even convey.

They're not all swaps.

New Orleans owns a 2026 swap and then has the 2027 pick.

Portland has a 2028 swap, they own the 2029 pick and 2030 is a swap.

[Chuck Everett]

Giannis' beloved status and contract makes him so difficult to trade. Bucks fans would rather the team wither away into nothing with him on the roster and I can't really blame them. The odds of them getting another Giannis are infinitesimal. If Giannis is going to win a ring again, I personally believe it's going to be when he's an UFA and just picks a team he can go to.

The only teams that guarantee him contender status (aside from say OKC), are Indiana, Cleveland and New York. And in the case of the Knicks, they would have to throw a lot of picks in because Bucks fans would riot if they just received Karl Towns.

[knicksfan974]

The Bucks would be better off in the long run by accomodating Giannis' wishes right now. If they deny his trade request, things can get ugly and it will be the Bucks organization who will end up with the short straw eventually.

[Mamba81p]

Giannis' beloved status and contract makes him so difficult to trade. Bucks fans would rather the team wither away into nothing with him on the roster and I can't really blame them. The odds of them getting another Giannis are infinitesimal. If Giannis is going to win a ring again, I personally believe it's going to be when he's an UFA and just picks a team he can go to.

The only teams that guarantee him contender status (aside from say OKC), are Indiana, Cleveland and New York. And in the case of the Knicks, they would have to throw a lot of picks in because Bucks fans would riot if they just received Karl Towns.

I think the list of teams that would be contenders with him is much bigger: Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Dallas just to name a few

[seren]

The earliest Giannis can opt out is in two years. Bucks have the cards. Giannis can ask out but he can’t dictate where he wants to go. What is he going to do? Sit out the next two year?

He can easily stop performing at the level you see until he gets what he wants. Sit out of games due to "injury" or "rest".
He knows that even if they're bad, they won't have picks to capitalize a bad season.
I'm not saying he will do that(i doubt since Giannis doesn't seem like that guy plus i think he wants all NBA honors every season) but you never know.
That's a star driven league.
If they try to be tough, he will leave them when he's 32 and they won't get anything back (and they still won't have picks).

All these are just scenarios. He hasn't asked out(yet).

You are talking about a very hypothetical scenario. Honestly I can’t name a single player who did what you just said and went out to have a successful career with championships after that. You simply can not stop and restart your career like that. If Giannis is willing to sacrifice his reputation and two years of his career just like that, let him do it first rather than accept a mediocre offer especially when they have no picks and will suck for a decade once Giannis leaves.

[seren]

Giannis' beloved status and contract makes him so difficult to trade. Bucks fans would rather the team wither away into nothing with him on the roster and I can't really blame them. The odds of them getting another Giannis are infinitesimal. If Giannis is going to win a ring again, I personally believe it's going to be when he's an UFA and just picks a team he can go to.

The only teams that guarantee him contender status (aside from say OKC), are Indiana, Cleveland and New York. And in the case of the Knicks, they would have to throw a lot of picks in because Bucks fans would riot if they just received Karl Towns.

I think the list of teams that would be contenders with him is much bigger: Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Dallas just to name a few

All these teams are in the West. The West is incredibly strong right now. The likelihood of reaching the finals in the East with Milwaukee is much higher than in any of these situations.

Milwaukee can try to put a younger squad around Giannis this year. Even with just keeping their own FAs, that team should have no problem replicating this season’s outcome. A year from now, Lillard is an expiring contract that can be utilized in a bigger trade. Two years from now, they can have max cap space with the increased salary cap and Lillard contract off the books. While both are long shots for Giannis to win a ring, not any longer than any of the situations you mention in the Western conference. Now if OKC gets him while maintaining their core, that is a different story.

[durden_tyler]

Giannis might be stuck.

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Not exactly breaking news. They're not just going to give him away if he even requests to be traded.

Yeah, the Bucks are in a bind here. No way they get exact value but if at all traded even with less value is still a good trade since that's better than... nothing? Oh well. We've seen this movie before: player's prime wasted by the team.

[Johnny Firpo]

Giannis is not the kind of guy who will sit out, and the Bucks obviously know this. So if he would ask for a trade - not saying he did or will -, they might still not grant him that wish.