Free Agency & Trades Thread **NOW OPEN**

[JB7]

13 west teams think they can win it next season
what a blood bath

All the more reason why stars should probably want to move to the East, if they are asking for trades.

Giannis is smart to wanting to stay in East. He can roll to finals if he gets a real supporting cast

I know. It's why Raps make such sense in a deal. Giannis, with a legit starting lineup of Yak, BI, RJ & IQ should definitely be competitive enough to make it through the East.

[JB7]

Not saying i'd trade for DeMar to be our 6th Man this year but in 2026/27? Sure. But this year, let the young guys run the show and see what you have.

Derozan would be the kind of move you make to fill out a roster after making another "big" move.

RJ for DeRozan makes sense as it frees up space under the tax this year and his contract is only partially guaranteed for next season so you can decline the guarantee and free up enough space under the tax to keep Jakob Poeltl and Ochai Agbaji on new contracts. Ideally by that point they have one of Ochai, Gradey, or Ja'Kobe ready to step into that starting shooting guard role, so losing DeRozan in 2026-2027 isn't a huge issue.

Any way you look at it they have to move someone to cut salary going forward, I think everyone here understands RJ is the most expendable high salary player on the roster right now and he'll get moved by the deadline at latest.

It is not as if RJ is some old veteran. He's 24, and already a legit scoring wing, with veteran presence. Why dump that to be able to resign Ochai who is 25, and Gradey, who has yet to prove himself. Gradey and Ochai are valuable on their rookie scale deals. Once they start getting paid, that value plummets.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[ArthurVandelay]

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This might be an offseason for the ages just yet.

[Tor_Raps]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could be great building blocks for the Bucks.

They dont have their picks so they need to prioritize to win now vs a total rebuild.

[JB7]

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I think they have been looking at moving these two since last offseason. Question is, what can they get, and are they better off with the alternative?

[WuTang_CMB]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

I would take Scottie Barnes, JKW and picks over that

[JB7]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

Better than Barnes (23), Dick (21) and the 9th pick?

From the Bucks perspective, if they don't control their own picks for the next 5 seasons, is Garland (25) and Allen (27) really the core they want to build around?

[Tor_Raps]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

Better than Barnes (23), Dick (21) and the 9th pick?

From the Bucks perspective, if they don't control their own picks for the next 5 seasons, is Garland (25) and Allen (27) really the core they want to build around?

Garland and Allen were allstars and carried a team to the playoffs as the main 2 guys. Not saying thats the role they play on a championship team but its much better than anything Scottie has done in his career.

Cavs can also add some sweeteners to easily make it a better deal. Bucks don't have control of their own picks so they don't need unproven players who will ensure they are a bottom 5 team.

[Tor_Raps]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

I would take Scottie Barnes, JKW and picks over that

Nah you're tripping lol. Bucks cant bottom out so Garland/Allen are a much better starting base as they have proven by being allstars and carrying their team to the playoffs while Barnes has shown he cant be a teams top player.

[WuTang_CMB]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

I would take Scottie Barnes, JKW and picks over that

Nah you're tripping lol. Bucks cant bottom out so Garland/Allen are a much better starting base as they have proven by being allstars and carrying their team to the playoffs while Barnes has shown he cant be a teams top player.

Not really. Neither can those guys. Mitchell and mobley carries them. Garland is overrated. I would take scottie and picks over both of those guys any day.

[Tor_Raps]

I would take Scottie Barnes, JKW and picks over that

Nah you're tripping lol. Bucks cant bottom out so Garland/Allen are a much better starting base as they have proven by being allstars and carrying their team to the playoffs while Barnes has shown he cant be a teams top player.

Not really. Neither can those guys. Mitchell and mobley carries them. Garland is overrated. I would take scottie and picks over both of those guys any day.

I'm speaking of when Garland/Allen were allstars the year before Mitchell got there and they carried the Cavs to the playoffs. Garland doesnt fit well as a lower usage guy beside Mitchell.

Like I said, the Bucks don't have their own picks so they cant bottom out. Getting young players with picks ensures their own pick will be super high for the Pelicans and more of a disastrous PR situation.

[WuTang_CMB]

Nah you're tripping lol. Bucks cant bottom out so Garland/Allen are a much better starting base as they have proven by being allstars and carrying their team to the playoffs while Barnes has shown he cant be a teams top player.

Not really. Neither can those guys. Mitchell and mobley carries them. Garland is overrated. I would take scottie and picks over both of those guys any day.

I'm speaking of when Garland/Allen were allstars the year before Mitchell got there and they carried the Cavs to the playoffs. Garland doesnt fit well with a less usage guy beside Mitchell.

Like I said, the Bucks don't have their own picks so they cant bottom out. Getting young players with picks ensures their own pick will be super high for the Pelicans and more of a disastrous PR situation.

You take the better player which Scottie is. Garland and Allen didn’t do anything before Mitchell got there. The year you are talking about they lost in the play in and never made the playoffs. You could argue Scottie was Roy and along with fred pascal and og got 6th. But none of that matters because you will still need to add to both. For me though im taking a package around scottie jkw and picks. Bucks already said they need to loop in NO so its going to be q 3 teamer to get some picks back.

[Tripod]

Garland + Allen for Giannis is the best package out there. Garland/Allen were amazing the year before Mitchell got there and could go great building blocks for the Bucks who dont have their picks.

Better than Barnes (23), Dick (21) and the 9th pick?

From the Bucks perspective, if they don't control their own picks for the next 5 seasons, is Garland (25) and Allen (27) really the core they want to build around?

Garland and Allen were allstars and carried a team to the playoffs as the main 2 guys. Not saying thats the role they play on a championship team but its much better than anything Scottie has done in his career.

Cavs can also add some sweeteners to easily make it a better deal. Bucks don't have control of their own picks so they don't need unproven players who will ensure they are a bottom 5 team.

Yeah for ths Bucks, Garland+Allen is much better. Both in prime and signed for 3 and 4 years. So they can stay respectable for awhile and sell them off later on if they want.

[Zeno]

Not a Raptors trade but from snippets of reported interest and the Heat's goal of being a capspace team in 26 offseason while still trying to be good..ish, I think Demar for Wiggins makes some sense. Demar apparently wants to be traded and he is only guaranteed for 10 million for 26/27 season. He can slot into the Jimmy slot for one year and then be waived and stretched maybe. Vivek loves everything Warriors so I'm betting he sees Wiggins through that lens.

[Tor_Raps]

Not really. Neither can those guys. Mitchell and mobley carries them. Garland is overrated. I would take scottie and picks over both of those guys any day.

I'm speaking of when Garland/Allen were allstars the year before Mitchell got there and they carried the Cavs to the playoffs. Garland doesnt fit well with a less usage guy beside Mitchell.

Like I said, the Bucks don't have their own picks so they cant bottom out. Getting young players with picks ensures their own pick will be super high for the Pelicans and more of a disastrous PR situation.

You take the better player which Scottie is. Garland and Allen didn’t do anything before Mitchell got there. The year you are talking about they lost in the play in and never made the playoffs. You could argue Scottie was Roy and along with fred pascal and og got 6th. But none of that matters because you will still need to add to both. For me though im taking a package around scottie jkw and picks. Bucks already said they need to loop in NO so its going to be q 3 teamer to get some picks back.

Ah ok, youre right. Think there was an injury down the stretch that caused the freefall standings wise.

And my opinion changes if the Bucks can get their picks back so they can actually rebuild properly. Cavs could also send Allen to the Pelicans for the Bucks pick + something else to send to the Bucks.

[WuTang_CMB]

I'm speaking of when Garland/Allen were allstars the year before Mitchell got there and they carried the Cavs to the playoffs. Garland doesnt fit well with a less usage guy beside Mitchell.

Like I said, the Bucks don't have their own picks so they cant bottom out. Getting young players with picks ensures their own pick will be super high for the Pelicans and more of a disastrous PR situation.

You take the better player which Scottie is. Garland and Allen didn’t do anything before Mitchell got there. The year you are talking about they lost in the play in and never made the playoffs. You could argue Scottie was Roy and along with fred pascal and og got 6th. But none of that matters because you will still need to add to both. For me though im taking a package around scottie jkw and picks. Bucks already said they need to loop in NO so its going to be q 3 teamer to get some picks back.

Ah ok, youre right. Think there was an injury down the stretch that caused the freefall standings wise.

And my opinion changes if the Bucks can get their picks back so they can actually rebuild properly. Cavs could also send Allen to the Pelicans for the Bucks pick + something else to send to the Bucks.

Yah its a good converversation. Even down the line.
Scottie didn’t have a good year but i do think his value will be a lot different 12 months from now.

[ciueli]

Derozan would be the kind of move you make to fill out a roster after making another "big" move.

RJ for DeRozan makes sense as it frees up space under the tax this year and his contract is only partially guaranteed for next season so you can decline the guarantee and free up enough space under the tax to keep Jakob Poeltl and Ochai Agbaji on new contracts. Ideally by that point they have one of Ochai, Gradey, or Ja'Kobe ready to step into that starting shooting guard role, so losing DeRozan in 2026-2027 isn't a huge issue.

Any way you look at it they have to move someone to cut salary going forward, I think everyone here understands RJ is the most expendable high salary player on the roster right now and he'll get moved by the deadline at latest.

It is not as if RJ is some old veteran. He's 24, and already a legit scoring wing, with veteran presence. Why dump that to be able to resign Ochai who is 25, and Gradey, who has yet to prove himself. Gradey and Ochai are valuable on their rookie scale deals. Once they start getting paid, that value plummets.

Ochai is already a better defender and 3 point shooter than Barrett and he will get paid a lot less on his next contract unless something crazy happens this year. Barrett can do things Ochai will never be able to do but that is why RJ is getting paid nearly $30M/year and likely more on his next contract, a contract we likely won't be able to afford without getting rid of someone else or compromising the bench.

We have to get ahead of this now without taking a step back this season, the trade for DeMar is a nice side-grade move that frees up space under the tax both this season and next season even if his non-guaranteed year is picked up. Quite simply we can't afford RJ without making some serious roster moves in other areas that will really hurt in the short and long term (losing Jak, for example, or letting other free agents go).

[Spida888]

hmmm Scottie, Gradey/JKW, picks vs Garland, Allen is interesting. I think Garland and Allen will provide the higher floor.
Lopez is 36 and a UFA. Maybe they sign him to a smaller deal to come off the bench, but it's nice to get their new starting C.

If I'm the Bucks the tie breaker for those deals may be the picks being offered by the Raps - the # of unprotected picks/swaps we're talking about.

I wouldn't think twice to trade Scottie + Gradey for Giannis but I don't want to send them all/most of our future picks. Would be rough if this doesn't work out or Giannis doesn't re-sign in a couple of years. Maybe 1-2 more picks + a swap would be my limit.

[MiamiSPX]

Better than Barnes (23), Dick (21) and the 9th pick?

From the Bucks perspective, if they don't control their own picks for the next 5 seasons, is Garland (25) and Allen (27) really the core they want to build around?

Garland and Allen were allstars and carried a team to the playoffs as the main 2 guys. Not saying thats the role they play on a championship team but its much better than anything Scottie has done in his career.

Cavs can also add some sweeteners to easily make it a better deal. Bucks don't have control of their own picks so they don't need unproven players who will ensure they are a bottom 5 team.

Yeah for ths Bucks, Garland+Allen is much better. Both in prime and signed for 3 and 4 years. So they can stay respectable for awhile and sell them off later on if they want.

If those 2 scenarios were on the table, I think we're forgetting to factor in who Giannis would choose. And it would be Mitchell (6x All-Star, 2x All-NBA) and Mobley, who has become the most decorated player of that draft class, thus far, and is a stud. He's not choosing BI, RJ and IQ instead of those 2 if we're being honest and serious.