Atlanta - Milwaukee - Portland

[One_and_Done]

You've repeated this ad naseum without, to my knowledge, providing a shread of evidence or having made a compelling argument.

Nobody can provide rock solid evidence, because Giannis is hardly going to do an interview saying "Portland/Atlanta is a backwater city, and I won't play there", but common sense makes it pretty clear he won't go there for the reasons I've explained, just like no other star has.

What possible reason is there to think he'd want to go there?

Atlanta is one of the favorite cities of NBA players to go to. For the NBA it would be a second tier city like Houston, behind the big ones of NY, LA, and maybe Miami for the South Beach lifestyle. The question is more whether they trust the Hawks to be a quality team to play for than the city.

And, players (and even one coach) have said publicly they aren't interested in going to Salt Lake City so they will come out and say this at times.

No star has ever demanded a trade to Atlanta as far as I know. In just the last few years we've seen multiple stars demand trades to SA and Houston, Golden State has been a popular trade destination for years too, and even Phoenix has had more love. Atlanta may not be Utah, but it's a long way away from being a destination for star players.

[BlazersBroncos]

Its not on par with Miami or NKY or whatever but ATL certainly has a step up on PDX for NBA players if only due to demographics, weather and taxes (Multnomah County where Portland is located has an INSANE tax structure - dont even get me started lol).

[One_and_Done]

...
Butler wanted the Suns because they'd max him, and a deal was agreed, but Beal indicated he'd veto it which made a deal functionally impossible under the rules. Jimmy had to then 'settle' for the 3rd biggest market after NY/LA....

Just occasionally take 30 seconds and look on the internet before saying things like they were facts.

Getty Research -- Ranking the largest markets in the NBA.
(Team -- TV Market Size -- Metro Population)

1. New York Knicks / Brooklyn Nets 7.453M 19,216,182
2. LA Lakers / LA Clippers 5.735M 13,214,799
3. Chicago Bulls 3.472M 9,458,539

4. Philadelphia 76ers 2.997M 6,102,434
5. Dallas Mavericks 2.963M 7,573,136
6. Toronto Raptors – 5,928,040
7. Golden State Warriors 2.653M 4,731,803

8. Atlanta Hawks 2.649M 6,020,364
9. Houston Rockets 2.570M 7,066,141
10. Washington Wizards 2.566M 6,280,487
11. Boston Celtics 2.490M 4,873,019
12. Phoenix Suns 2.158M 4,948,203

This is such a dubious way of measuring the affluence of a city (e.g. by various GDP measurea Golden State would be 3rd). Mexico City has alot of people in it too, but I'm not sure many players want to live there. Obviously I was talking about Golden State being 3rd biggest by wealth. Other factors like weather, lifestyle, etc, are key as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_GDP

[One_and_Done]

Its not on par with Miami or NKY or whatever but ATL certainly has a step up on PDX for NBA players if only due to demographics, weather and taxes (Multnomah County where Portland is located has an INSANE tax structure - dont even get me started lol).

The thing is, the 10th most desirable NBA city is no more likely to have a star demand a trade there than the 20th. Only the top destinations are relevant.

[Ball4life32]

I think a fair question is who is the last superstar to force themselves to the exact team they want to go to? Anthony Davis a decade ago? If Giannis was 24 I get the concern but color me very shocked if he turns down 63M at age 33.

Fox forced his way to the Spurs just last season. KD forced his way to one of his 3 teams of choice last offsesson. Jimmy Butler had all but forced his way to Phoenix last year, when Beal screwed it up with his veto. He instead got to go to a different team he wanted.

Fox is a good example, I stand corrected on that one. However, I think each examples of these fail to reach the superstar level that make people willing to take a gamble on them regardless.

Not really. Fox isn't a superstar.

[One_and_Done]

Fox forced his way to the Spurs just last season. KD forced his way to one of his 3 teams of choice last offsesson. Jimmy Butler had all but forced his way to Phoenix last year, when Beal screwed it up with his veto. He instead got to go to a different team he wanted.

Fox is a good example, I stand corrected on that one. However, I think each examples of these fail to reach the superstar level that make people willing to take a gamble on them regardless.

Not really. Fox isn't a superstar.

Atlanta has never even had a Fox like player demand a trade to their team.

[tester551]

Is anyone beating..

Trae, Risacher, Asa, 2026 NOP/Mil, 2027 NOP/Mil?

If we say Trae can only return a first? Or if we say Milwaukee tells Trae they’ll give him his full max if he sticks through the tank.. Trae/Turner as the vets around the two 2026 lottery picks and Rollins/Risacher/Asa?

No reason to include Jalen imo

It’s a good package as long as the Bucks want Trae, but I doubt they would. Too small, overpaid, one way player etc.

I do share your feelings on Trae so hard to defend him, but also think he could be flipped for a first from somewhere.

Or you look at the team that doesn’t own their own draft pick for 4 drafts and think there’s worse things than watching Trae push your youth to the play-in.. If you do draft well, you can always trade Trae as a neutral-ish asset in a year or two..

Agreed.

Young's warts get magnified in these basketball forums. But the vast majority of people are causal fans. Trae brings a lot of interest, name cache' and ticket sales.

From a basketball standpoint, his game is hard to deal with (both good & bad)... but there is no denying his game is entertaining.

As a result, I think Bucks would most definitely be interested in getting Trae back in a trade.

[One_and_Done]

Given the Bucks don't have their picks, I think they'd definitely have interest in acquiring Trae in the hopes that he can keep them entertaining and competetive. A Hawks/Bucks trade makes sense for everyone except Giannis, which is why it won't happen.