Bam Adebayo would be the missing piece for the hornets.

[Ell Curry]

I could see this as the framework for a Giannis deal if he asks out. If Ware can develop into an average 3pt shooter you have the stretchy 5 Giannis needs.

Heat - Giannis
Charlotte - Bam
Milwaukee - Many, many first rounders from both teams.

Ideally for the Bucks you get Portland involved to get the Milwaukee picks back, though Portland has enough young depth that they'd probably demand a really high price to not just hope the Bucks post-Giannis provide them with a top 3 pick to get a franchise player they still need.

I see no reason why Portland wouldn`t trade for Giannis or Bam themselves rather than paying the price for someone else to get one or both of them.

I'm not sure Giannis would want to go to Portland (tougher West, small market), but Bam to Portland and Giannis to Miami sounds plausible, otherwise.

You can absolutely sub them in for Charlotte, and if they're willing to part with Bucks picks back to Milwaukee, it makes some sense unless Clingan has the kind of season that suggests he's gonna be a perennial DPOY candidate.

If Grant and Timelord are the financial filler:

Bam-Avdjia-Camara-Sharpe-Scoot
Clingan-Jrue-Lillard

would be a fun top 8.

Major issues are:

1) Portland is in the awkward position of having a competitive, likeable team that lacks star power and isn't a destination, so the Milwaukee 2028 and 2030 swaps really need to somehow turn into a star, whether that's by holding onto them and drafting well/lucky, or trading them.

So if Giannis asks out (or does it secretly but Portland suspects it), they might be better off just sitting out any Giannis trade and and hoping they get a top 3 pick in 2028 or 2030 and grabbing a star they have for 8+ years who can be in his 3rd and 4th still cheap seasons when their core is in their 26-33 range and in their prime (Scoot, Clingan and Sharpe entering their playoff primes, Avdija and Camara still hanging onto theirs).

2) Bam may not want to go to Portland, though I assume they could offer him a crazy good extension that pays him huge into his mid 30s, so maybe he would?