Giannis Trade Discussion

[Q-is-here]

Since FNG kicked off a dedicated thread to Kyrie, I thought I'd do one on Giannis.

I see Giannis completely different from Kyrie. He's nearly three years younger and is still near his peak in terms of on court production. He is a legit #1 type player and has won a title as a #1 player. I think he could have played more games for Milwaukee last year if they were truly a playoff team with a better supporting cast.

I expect Connelly to be VERY aggressive in going after Giannis this offseason. It would likely mean trading Randle AND Rudy AND our 1st rounder and involving other teams, especially if Jaden isn't part of the deal.

Thoughts?

[60WinTim]

The internet tells me Jaden HAS to be included, or it is a non-starter...

[Phenom]

Giannis will have to put his thumb on the scale hard for the Wolves to keep Jaden out.

[Monster]

I'd guess the Wolves not wanting to include Jaden in a Giannis deal is why the last report said Miami and Boston are the spots right now.

It would be interesting to know what Milwaukee is prioritizing in terms of stuff coming back.

[60WinTim]

I'd guess the Wolves not wanting to include Jaden in a Giannis deal is why the last report said Miami and Boston are the spots right now.

It would be interesting to know what Milwaukee is prioritizing in terms of stuff coming back.

And why the heck would Giannis want to go to the West and have to get through the Thunder and Spurs just to sniff another finals?

Unless he's going to the Thunder or Spurs, I think it is a lock he stays in the East.

[Q-is-here]

I'd guess the Wolves not wanting to include Jaden in a Giannis deal is why the last report said Miami and Boston are the spots right now.

It would be interesting to know what Milwaukee is prioritizing in terms of stuff coming back.

And why the heck would Giannis want to go to the West and have to get through the Thunder and Spurs just to sniff another finals?

Unless he's going to the Thunder or Spurs, I think it is a lock he stays in the East.

The Thunder literally have the assets to trade for Giannis without touching any of the current healthly players they have right now. JDubs + Sorber + a bunch of 1st rounders. Presti has amassed an embarrassment of riches.

They could literally trade for Giannis as a pure defensive measure so that no one else gets him, then basically play him on a part-time basis until the playoffs.

Not saying they will trade for him, but it would be one hell of a flex if they did.

[AussieWolf3]

I don't know exactly what the Wolves need to do this summer.
It's easy to say, "they need to build around Ant to actually get the most out of him." The how is a lot trickier.
A lot of the best complimentary pieces are likely not attainable. On the roster, Jaden and Naz are incredibly good pieces to put around Edwards, but the empirical evidence suggests that they are simply complimentary, not force multipliers who can be secondary stars. I believe both have higher level to their games but that is still unknown.

As I sit and wonder who and what I think need to be inserted into this group, I consistently arrive at the believe that a two way, play making 5 who can either shoot the 3 or can be a hub.
Said another way, can they be great at two of these three things:
- anchor a defense
- space the floor
- playmaking hub

With that in mind, I was listening to Dane most recent episode with Jace, and they discussed trading for Zion. I'll be honest, it was a pretty convincing argument - a downhill threat who can play from the top of the floor, and is a good and possibly really good playmaker out of that. That's what Finch wanted Randle to do and ultimately he just isn't consistently good enough at that to make it work, especially with Rudy on the floor.

In the end I'm not convinced trading for Zion is the answer, his suspect character issues being a chief reason.
But.... It is an argument that has more and more convinced me that trading for Giannis, at the right price would be ideal. The right price means keeping Jaden, that's critical in my opinion. You also have to move Rudy and I don't know who is your 5 that can space the floor next to Giannis, but ultimately I think it's the right fit and the right opportunity.

We'll see what happens but I think I'm most in favor of this move more than any else, assuming you keep Jaden

[FNG]

I'd guess the Wolves not wanting to include Jaden in a Giannis deal is why the last report said Miami and Boston are the spots right now.

It would be interesting to know what Milwaukee is prioritizing in terms of stuff coming back.

And why the heck would Giannis want to go to the West and have to get through the Thunder and Spurs just to sniff another finals?

Unless he's going to the Thunder or Spurs, I think it is a lock he stays in the East.

The Thunder literally have the assets to trade for Giannis without touching any of the current healthly players they have right now. JDubs + Sorber + a bunch of 1st rounders. Presti has amassed an embarrassment of riches.

They could literally trade for Giannis as a pure defensive measure so that no one else gets him, then basically play him on a part-time basis until the playoffs.

Not saying they will trade for him, but it would be one hell of a flex if they did.

Yeah, it would be so easy for them to trade for Giannis, and the Bucks would be happy with their haul too. After Wemby dominated them in game 1, I thought it was almost a certainty they would go get Giannis. Even though he has not been quite so dominant in the rest of the series, I have to believe an improving Wemby is the biggest roadblock to them winning multiple championships. And Giannis can probably defend him as well as anyone. I think this deal happens.

[Q-is-here]

But.... It is an argument that has more and more convinced me that trading for Giannis, at the right price would be ideal. The right price means keeping Jaden, that's critical in my opinion. You also have to move Rudy and I don't know who is your 5 that can space the floor next to Giannis, but ultimately I think it's the right fit and the right opportunity.

We'll see what happens but I think I'm most in favor of this move more than any else, assuming you keep Jaden

I would be willing to bet my drawer-full of Midwest Volleyball tchotchkeys that Tim Connelly and his front office staff are working the phones hard to put together a deal that would be acceptable to Milwaukee while NOT including Jaden.

Rudy would fit really well on Charlotte, a team on the cusp of making the playoffs and a PG capable of delivering him the ball in places where he can catch it. They were #5 on offense and #12 on defense last season, but their Centers are kind of "meh" overall. I have to believe he would be an attractive piece for them.

Charlotte also happens to have quite a few 1st round draft picks this year and next and Rudy would likely be worth at least two, if not three, of those first rounders along with the matching salaries of existing role players on their roster. Those 1sts would be valuable currency in the pursuit of Giannis in addition to the two 1st the Wolves have of their own that can be traded (this year's and, gulp, 2033 I believe).

Now let's turn to Randle. Milwaukee was terrible when Giannis didn't play last season and the new anti-tanking rules provide a disincentive for teams to end up among the bottom 3. Their Center happens to be Myles Turner, one of the few stretch 5 starting Centers in the NBA. Randle would help replace some of Giannis's scoring while being a decent fit next to Myles. This may be enough to make Milwaukee solidly mediocre, which is the sweet spot that yields the most lottery balls.

You'd have to make all the other salary matching work and I'm positive we'd need a big assist from Giannis' camp as a preferred destination, but I do think a deal centered around Randle and the assets Rudy gets from a 3rd team could be a compelling package.

Or may be I'm just dreaming....

[Mnwild1128]

Hawks: AD

Celts: Giannis

Wizards: Gobert, Kuminga, Hawks pick 23

Wolves: Brown, Okongwu

Bucks: Randle, Risacher, Shannon Jr., Wolves 2033 1st, Celts 2028 1st via Spurs #1 protected, Celts pick 27, Hawks 2027 1st via Bucks.

Trade approves. Wolves take on 500k more in salary.

Hawks and Blazers are interested in AD and that Wizards are planning to trade him. We know Bucks are trading Giannis. We know there are rumors of Giannis to Celts. We know Wolves want to make a big move and move off at least one of our two starting bigs. Looks like a really good framework for a trade to me.

Ayo
Ant
Brown
Jaden
Naz/Okongwu

Okongwu/Naz
Beringer
Clark
Pick 28

Bones?
SloMo?
Donte end of season?
Rocco?

I think if you can also find a way to get a McConnell level PG, this team would be solid. There is also more ball handling now. Still not perfect but better than we had previously.