NOP / MIL / BOS: Giannis Tatum and White

[williambh3]

Structured as two trades - Everything but the Tatum / Giannis swap happens first so Boston can get below the 2nd apron. Basically I think there’s alpha for all in stacking the gap years in Milwaukee with the 2026 swap that probably expires worthless in the status quo.

NOP
Out: Murray, Olynyk, Hawkins, #7, 2026 MIL Swap, 2027 MIL 1st
In: Derrick White (or sent to 4th team / keep picks), Kuzma, Livingston

MIL
Out: Giannis, Kuzma, Livingston
In: Tatum, Murray, #7, 2026 MIL swap, 2027 MIL 1st (picks replaced w Derrick White return if sent to 4th team, swap stays in)

BOS
Out: Tatum, White
In: Giannis, Olynyk, Hawkins

For NOP, White is a great fit if they’re truly looking to compete and costs less than Bane here. I’d also imagine this works just fine with White going to a 4th team for young players / picks, and #7 and possibly MIL 2027 (or another pick) staying (going) to New Orleans.

For MIL, Giannis may not ask for a trade, but I don’t see a real path to build around him. They could work together to find something mutually beneficial. Here they take a triple gap year and focus on adding complementary role players to Tatum / Lillard / Murray / #7 and their likely top 5 pick in 2026.

For BOS, they probably won’t trade Tatum, but Giannis is better. Pritchard / Jrue / Brown / Giannis / Porzingis is championship level right now. You don’t have to miss 2026, and then wait for Tatum to get back up to speed surrounded by Brown / White and what is probably a skeleton crew in 2027.

[TGW]

The Pelicans get screwed big time. Oof. They send out multiple firsts (including a lottery pick) and only have Derrick White to show for it.
I mean White is a solid player, but he's a role player. He doesn't have this kind of value.

[Ron Swanson]

Kudos on the creativity but this isn't enough for Giannis and yeah, feels like Pelicans get screwed big time here.

[psman2]

White is a good player but some people are getting carried away with what he could be traded for. Sure NOP get off Murray but just doesn’t do enough for them.

[hugepatsfan]

The absolute only scenario that MIL even entertains a Giannis offer is if he wants out and won't extend. And if he does want out and won't extend, I don't think he's worth this much more than Tatum even after injury. Tatum is still signed for 3 years if he misses all of next year.

Giannis is obviously hugely valuable and I understand the Tatum injury factor, but MIL isn't going to get their picks back, a current lottery pick and a top 5 caliber player all back for Giannis. That's not realistic and the Tatum injury doesn't bridge that gap.

If Tatum were healthy and Giannis wanted out to the point you were discussing trade, you'd probably get Tatum straight up for him and that's it. With injury, you probably get all of BOS's future draft capital to make up for the injury year and recovery projections.

It's all a moot point anyway because Tatum trades right now are silly talk.

[brackdan70]

I don’t really like this for anyone tbh.
I think for the Bucks the value is very good, but Tatums injury is question enough to say no.
For the Celtics I feel like it’s too much to give. Idk.
Great creative trade though.

[williambh3]

White is a good player but some people are getting carried away with what he could be traded for. Sure NOP get off Murray but just doesn’t do enough for them.

Is he really that much worse than Bane?

[hugepatsfan]

White is a good player but some people are getting carried away with what he could be traded for. Sure NOP get off Murray but just doesn’t do enough for them.

I mean, isn't he comparable as a player to Bane who just went for negative salary filler and 4 1sts, including one considered to have real lottery potential in that PHX pick? White is 4 years older but this is also sending back more negative salary filler (considering Murray's injury) and 2 1sts instead of 4. It's kind of murky because I'd say in addition to #7, that 2026 MIL 1st is probably high lottery with Dame/Tatum recovery. So yeah this might be too much on those particulars, but I don't think the value here is crazy.

The issue is that NOP isn't the team to value White like this.

[facothomas22]

The Pelicans get screwed big time. Oof. They send out multiple firsts (including a lottery pick) and only have Derrick White to show for it.
I mean White is a solid player, but he's a role player. He doesn't have this kind of value.

You're talking about Derrick White as if he's just a random average role player and not one of the best 3 and D players in the NBA. Also have to take into consideration that Dejounte Murray is a negative value contract, which also means the Pelicans would also have to attach even more assets just to off of that contract. Now with that said however, this is going have to be 4 or even 5 team with the Pelicans keeping their 7th pick and getting get extra stuff for giving up the Bucks picks. The Pelicans are not a Derrick White away from contending and it makes no sense for them to give up value in order to get him.

[hugepatsfan]

White is a good player but some people are getting carried away with what he could be traded for. Sure NOP get off Murray but just doesn’t do enough for them.

Is he really that much worse than Bane?

The only thing Bane does better than White is shoot and over the last 3 years Bane is 39.4% from 3 on 7.0 attempts/game and White is 38.7% on 6.8 attempts/game. White is better at every other aspect of basketball. Better ball handler, better playmaker, better individual defender, better team defender.

Bane is 4 years younger. That's really the big value pull in his favor.

[brackdan70]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

[mlloyd10]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

I would take Derrick White over Brown everyday -

[hugepatsfan]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

Strong for sure. But a team that, even with him, doesn't look like a locked in playoff team isn't goin to give the #7 pick this year and a 2026 MIL pick that's resulting from a year that Tatum/Dame will both miss. And not that he's good, but Kuzma is going out too. That 2026 MIL pick swap, in this trade scenario, will be coming from a team that's best player on paper after the deal will be Bobby Portis as far as guys playing next year... and he may opt out too which means it'd be Pat Connaughton.

[williambh3]

I don’t really like this for anyone tbh.
I think for the Bucks the value is very good, but Tatums injury is question enough to say no.
For the Celtics I feel like it’s too much to give. Idk.
Great creative trade though.

So Milwaukee prefers to make Giannis keep their bare cupboard roster just mediocre enough, Boston prefers to take the gap year and then rebuild around Tatum and Brown on the wrong side of 30 and super expensive, and New Orleans prefers to keep doing whatever it is they’re doing?

[williambh3]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

Strong for sure. But a team that, even with him, doesn't look like a locked in playoff team isn't goin to give the #7 pick this year and a 2026 MIL pick that's resulting from a year that Tatum/Dame will both miss. And not that he's good, but Kuzma is going out too. That 2026 MIL pick swap, in this trade scenario, will be coming from a team that's best player on paper after the deal will be Bobby Portis as far as guys playing next year... and he may opt out too which means it'd be Pat Connaughton.

This deal doesn’t happen without the swap, so New Orleans is giving up a Giannis on Milwaukee swap, not a post deal swap.

[hugepatsfan]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

Strong for sure. But a team that, even with him, doesn't look like a locked in playoff team isn't goin to give the #7 pick this year and a 2026 MIL pick that's resulting from a year that Tatum/Dame will both miss. And not that he's good, but Kuzma is going out too. That 2026 MIL pick swap, in this trade scenario, will be coming from a team that's best player on paper after the deal will be Bobby Portis as far as guys playing next year... and he may opt out too which means it'd be Pat Connaughton.

This deal doesn’t happen without the swap, so New Orleans is giving up a Giannis on Milwaukee swap, not a post deal swap.

MIL doesn't deal Giannis unless he makes it so they have to. And if he makes it so, then NOP is sitting on a post Giannis trade swap.

MIL isn't driving this here. They're at Giannis' mercy. He wants to stay - they unequivocally keep him. He makes that an untenable situation - they have to trade him whether they get their swap back or not.

[djFan71]

Achilles rehab specialists in MIL area say yes.
Not sure anyone else does, but it is creative.

NOP would need a lot more, imo. And probably look for a 4th team to send White to and get assets from.

[williambh3]

Yeah White is a top 30-40 guy on a really team friendly contract. His value is quite strong.

Strong for sure. But a team that, even with him, doesn't look like a locked in playoff team isn't goin to give the #7 pick this year and a 2026 MIL pick that's resulting from a year that Tatum/Dame will both miss. And not that he's good, but Kuzma is going out too. That 2026 MIL pick swap, in this trade scenario, will be coming from a team that's best player on paper after the deal will be Bobby Portis as far as guys playing next year... and he may opt out too which means it'd be Pat Connaughton.

I don’t love the direction for NOP either, but everything points more in the direction of trying to compete than stripping it down.

[toooskies]

I enjoy Milwaukee collecting the three Achilles injuries all together, but the likely outcome is that at least one of them are not going to be 100%, and in reality it's probably two or three who don't make it nearly all the way back.

At the end of the day NOP asks whether this makes them good enough to compete with the OKCs of the world or if they're an also-ran. They're better but how many teams are they beating in the playoffs? It's another gamble of surrounding Zion with good players but at the end of the day you're way too dependent on Zion's health.

[brackdan70]

I don’t really like this for anyone tbh.
I think for the Bucks the value is very good, but Tatums injury is question enough to say no.
For the Celtics I feel like it’s too much to give. Idk.
Great creative trade though.

So Milwaukee prefers to make Giannis keep their bare cupboard roster just mediocre enough, Boston prefers to take the gap year and then rebuild around Tatum and Brown on the wrong side of 30 and super expensive, and New Orleans prefers to keep doing whatever it is they’re doing?

Yes for Boston. Giannis is on the wrong side of 30. . Two years older than Brown. Tatum will be 30 in March 2028. Brown in Oct 2026.
I like Brown Tatum White better than Brown and Giannis as a core to get another window.
If Tatum was a sure thing to get back to 95% of what he was then I’d love it for bucks, but like I said that’s the question for them.