Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Watch

[Manu20]

As exciting as it would be to have Giannis and Wemby, some of the best trades or moves are the ones you don't make....example trading TP for Gary Payton (don't really know how true that was) or signing Jason Kidd.

 

[ulosturedge]

Castle and Harper are the future backcourt. Wemby is Wemby. They can have Fox and anyone else I did not mention here.

 

[PanameSpur]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996814004551852046

So this guy AGAIN teased a big nothingburger...

 

[CGD]

I'm in the "no" camp on that poll, but I'm honestly surprised how lopsided it is.

 

[Ice009]

I'm in the "no" camp on that poll, but I'm honestly surprised how lopsided it is.

Back around the time when we were all on ST still posting, the numbers might have been quite different back then IMO. Amazing what a difference 6 months makes. Now that we've seen some of what the team might look like, I don't think hardly anyone wants to break up this young core. I also wasn't expecting the chemistry to be this good either. I thought guys like Devin, Jeremy etc. might rock the boat, but it looks like they're willing to do what it takes to better themselves and do what's best for the team.

 

[poopbox]

If

Just looked up flights to and from Atlanta to Athens. Average duration of about 15 hours with a layover in Europe. NYC has a limited number of non-stop flights to Athens but its still 11.5 hours. Athens to LA averages about 18HRs.

Somewhat makes sense. Although I'd half expect Giannis wife and kids to be flying on the owners private jet.

 

[poopbox]

We give up all of our future flexibility because we'd have no tradeable picks left up until Wemby is like 27.
We'd have to offer Giannis a supermax extension that would start in 2027, meaning he'd be under contract up until he's 37, which is risky.
Fox would have to go when that extension kicks in.
The only way for us to replenish our rotation would be free agency and second rounders.

We'd be fucked after Giannis declines if Harper doesn't develop well enough to be a legit second option for Wemby.

And obviously health issues would be the biggest concern.
The trade would be worth it only if we can guarantee that both Wemby and Giannis will stay healthy, but Giannis keeps getting injured.
Both 2023 and 2024 seasons were a failure because he got injured before or during the playoffs. And it's not going to get any better.

The problem with "future flexibility" is that it might not be so flexible and it might not get you anything.

OKC is still sitting on tons of draft capital but because they have already cashed out there 3 stars to max contracts they can't actually use those picks to get another star. OKC literally can't fit Giannis salary or future salary into their cap without moving off of 1 or 2 of SGA JWill or Chet, and I am sure at one point Giannis was a primary target for them which is why they hoarded all those picks in the first place.

Sometimes when you pass up opportunities now for opportunities later, the ones later never really materialize.

I agree Giannis injuries should give you pause...but Dylan Harper has already been hurt 3 times this season that caused him to miss practice and games? Should we move off of Dylan Harper right now, cause 3 injuries in less than 30 games looks like a bad omen.

 

[frenchfred]

if we trade Harper and/or Castle+picks, we are deciding to win now and assuming that Fox, Wemby and Giannis are sufficient to win the title. As Giannis/Fox get older, their trading value will diminish and we won't have picks for Wemby's prime. So it is a big gamble with Giannis new history of injuries and the ability for everybody to play well together.

Right now, the Spurs needs to dump Sochan to get another 3&D and find a 3rd string center to replace Biyombo and have everybody play more games together to find automatisms.

 

[tim_duncan_fan]

Delayed gratification, folks! It's a virtue for a reason! Looking at the poll, glad we are mostly in agreement!

 

[TimmyBuckets]

Any trade would have to be after the 2-4 week mark after Giannis is evaluated for his calf injury. Also if Fox is to be traded, it would have to be 2/4/26 or after. Spurs need to wait 6 months to trade him. That said, if they do the trade, it would have to be Fox, Sochan/Barnes and 4 picks or so (idk exact salaries). Otherwise, they would likely trade Castle, Barnes, Sochan, 4 picks or something like that idk. Either way though, I think Spurs should stay pat. Also, I doubt OKC pulls the trigger either. I'm hoping Giannis either stays with Milwaukee or forces a trade to the Knicks, despite Knicks not having a good package.

 

[spurraider21]

im definitely on team "no trade" and have explained my thoughts quite a bit elsewhere. in short, OKC is dominant right now, and also has a pretty clear runway ahead of them as well. giannis would certainly make us better right now and let us challenge OKC a bit more this year, while still integrating a massive piece midseason, and will need to win with a lot of guys contributing who have limited, if any, playoff experience, including wemby himself. so there are question marks there, compounded with the sacrifice of our own future runway.

however, if i was putting one of castle/harper on the table, it probably would be castle only because there is an extra year of evidence that his shooting is just bad, and we have seen 0 improvement in that department coming off his rookie year, though he clearly has gotten better overall by really solidifying his already strong traits. he was at 28.5% last year on 5.5 attempts per 36 min, and he's at 24% this year on 4.3 attempts per 36

now its not like harper is scorching hot, he's at 33% on only 3.7 attempts per 36, but he's also been a better free throw shooter at 79% compared to castle who is at 72% for his career. so he's got a better head start in the shooting department and is a year behind steph in general... so thats kind of where i see it. particularly because if you bring in giannis, off-ball skill and spacing becomes even more important for our guards than it already is.

 

[spurs2112]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, I didn't read all 10 pages of this post. If it's true the Spurs have interest do you think it can be they have concerns about Victors longevity? Maybe they have a lets try to win as much as we can now approach with that in the back of their mind. I'm in the "No" camp. I can't see them gutting, what I feel, is a pretty solid team (with flaws of course) that seems to be coming together. Then again it is Giannis and if he's available who wouldn't do their due diligence and take a shot.

 

[Raven_]

Castle + first rounder + Barnes for Alphabet, i'm all in.

 

[LeBowen]

The problem with "future flexibility" is that it might not be so flexible and it might not get you anything.

True, but the worst case scenario with not getting anything out of our current young players and future picks would be having a clean cap situation.
While going for a star on the wrong side of 30 that also needs to be extended up until he's like 37 means we're one serious injury away from massive negative value. Sixers being the best example.

OKC is still sitting on tons of draft capital but because they have already cashed out there 3 stars to max contracts they can't actually use those picks to get another star.

They kind of don't need to get another star since they're by far the best team in the league right now? The purpose of those picks is enabling them to keep refreshing their supporting cast.
The best example being late-00s Spurs with not enough assets to surround big3 with high end role players, resulting in a few disappointing seasons.

OKC literally can't fit Giannis salary or future salary into their cap without moving off of 1 or 2 of SGA JWill or Chet, and I am sure at one point Giannis was a primary target for them which is why they hoarded all those picks in the first place.

Sometimes when you pass up opportunities now for opportunities later, the ones later never really materialize.

The question is what's our goal? I don't think our goal should be blowing our load on a 31 year old, even if he's one of the best players ever, because even the best case scenario from that would be a couple of championships and a struggle to surround Wemby with an elite supporting cast during his peak years.
Presti's goal was never to win one, it was to create the most dominant force in the league. Luckily for him, Thunder ownership was smart enough to let him fulfill his vision.

I agree Giannis injuries should give you pause...but Dylan Harper has already been hurt 3 times this season that caused him to miss practice and games? Should we move off of Dylan Harper right now, cause 3 injuries in less than 30 games looks like a bad omen.

As I said, Dylan Harper injuries have the worst case scenario of him not living up to his potential and us not getting any value from him.
Giannis injuries have the worst case scenario of Spurs being in a situation similar to Sixers with dead cap space and immovable washed superstar.
Giannis has player option for 27-28 season, meaning he'll opt out next summer and ask for an extension. Any team that trades for him will have to agree to that right away. Kind of how we did with Fox.
Meaning he'll be making 30% of the cap up until 2031.

 

[Kick-Stand]

The fit if he’s acquired would be way less clean than, say, a KD who universally fits in every system. There’s a very real chance where wemby is used like super brook lopez, which I think none of us wants.

That might be the best reason not to make this trade. What a waste sticking Wemby in the corner every possession because Giannis likes to receive the ball in the high post.

 

[spurraider21]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, I didn't read all 10 pages of this post. If it's true the Spurs have interest do you think it can be they have concerns about Victors longevity? Maybe they have a lets try to win as much as we can now approach with that in the back of their mind. I'm in the "No" camp. I can't see them gutting, what I feel, is a pretty solid team (with flaws of course) that seems to be coming together. Then again it is Giannis and if he's available who wouldn't do their due diligence and take a shot.

if the spurs were going to operate as though they dont think vic will sustain a reasonable career then they should be moving him

 

[KobesAchilles]

Crazy to think that the Bucks hired Nico Harrison after he was fired…

I’m 100% behind this if we give up Castle, filler, and boatload of picks.

I’m 75% behind this if we give up Harper, filler, and a boatload of picks

Reasons to do this. We are instant title contenders and match up insanely well against OKC and Denver.

Wemby and Giannis will preserve each other going forward. People here are worried about injuries to both players but hypothetically, by not having to carry the load of a franchise on their backs, both of these players can kinda coast a bit in the regular season and really ramp up in the playoffs. Giannis gets hurt bc he’s literally all of the Bucks offense and he plays balls to the wall defense. With Wemby he can tone it down and have less wear and tear on him.

If you are worried about Wemby and injuries going forward then going for the title now makes 100% sense. 31 isn’t old at all. Giannis will have 3 more all NBA seasons in him bare minimum and I believe when paired with Wemby we could see that extended to 4-6 years.

A Giannis, Fox, Wemby trio is literally unstoppable even if they don’t mesh 100%. Think about the insane free throw rates we will be shooting as a team. It also takes away double teams from either player. You can’t double Giannis bc Wemby will feast and you can’t double Wemby (like teams are already doing and he is struggling against) bc Giannis is there. It forces teams to guard us straight up and nobody will be able to.

Giannis brings no baggage. He is 100% a pro. He is dedicated to working out, working on his game, diet, no off court drama. He’s about as good a vet as you could possibly have and is the epitome of the Spurs way.

Lastly, you either believe in Harper (Castle) or you don’t. Bc if Harper is destined for greatness then we will still have our team of the future with him and Wemby.

 

[LeBowen]

Giannis brings no baggage.

Also, this current stretch has proven that Wemby won't have to do it all by himself.

 

[spurs2112]

if the spurs were going to operate as though they dont think vic will sustain a reasonable career then they should be moving him

I definitely see your point. But Vic is somebody you just don't move without raising red flags. Plus I don't think the Spurs would do that to him. It was just a thought. Like I mentioned in my post I don't really think I see them making a move.

 

[ulosturedge]

I believe Giannis for Fox could make sense for the Spurs. I don't know if it would make sense for the Bucks. I mean if you throw a bunch of first round picks in there maybe it would. The question would be if we flipped Fox for Giannis and kept enough key role players would that make us a Championship Team right now? It seems interesting idea because I believe the plan going forward is Fox being moved after a couple of seasons. In my opinion Fox is the odd man out between the 3 guards. This would be the only thing that would make sense for the Spurs. I would not mortgage our Future for a short term stint of Giannis.

 

[PanameSpur]

Add to the list of reasons trading for Giannis wouldn't make sense, the eventuality of losing Barnes.

He's too important on and off the court

 

[onechance87]

That might be the best reason not to make this trade. What a waste sticking Wemby in the corner every possession because Giannis likes to receive the ball in the high post.

wemby does this shit already.And giannis is great at posting up and drawing contact or finishing at the rim.

 

[spurraider21]

Giannis for Fox (+ picks) makes sense but doesnt make sense

makes sense because

1) the salaries are easier so we dont need to lose multiple key wing depth pieces at a time
2) we get to be greedy and keep harper/castle

ultimately doenst make sense because

1) spurs would never do Fox dirty like that
2) it would be a silly half measure. you trade for giannis to win now. as much as i like harper/castle, if we want to win now, Fox is by far the most important backcourt piece. you do this piece to keep the two timelines going, but now dont have the picks

 

[Dex]

Add to the list of reasons trading for Giannis wouldn't make sense, the eventuality of losing Barnes.

He's too important on and off the court

While I agree that Barnes is a great fit with the current squad and appreciate what he does...

There is no universe where the breaking point for bringing in someone like Giannis is soon-to-be 34-year-old Harrison Barnes.

 

[scott]

KOC talking about Giannis to OKC for Chet or JDub + stuff seems interesting.

Not sure how I feel about it. They could very well four peat that way, but it also coult limit their longevity making room for us.

In that scenario I'd hope the Clippers pick is included. It makes me very nervous right now.

What do you think?

I totally hope OKC does this because it would be stupid of them haha... well, right up until they land the #1 pick from LAC and two other top 10 picks from UTA and PHI