Giannis a long shot?

[Muzzy66]

First I must state with a disclaimer:- Yes, I know this is an extreme long shot and probably will not happen.  Now with that out of the way...

Giannis has been in Milwaukee for 8 seasons now and the teams he's played on have been pretty deep, but they have never given him that true #2 guy to play alongside him.  His next best player has been Middleton, who (lets be honest) is really no better then a #3 or #4 banana in today reality of "superteams".   

The Bucks just went down 0-2 to the Nets.  Lets say the Bucks lose real bad to the Nets, I'm talking a 4 game sweep or a 4-1 series loss. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that a hyper-competitive, perennial MVP candidate like Giannis may get frustrated and decide he wants to go and join up with a young superstar in the hope of competing for the next several years. 

Giannis will be making $39M next season.  If he were to demand a trade Boston could offer a package built around Jaylen Brown ($23.7M), Robert Williams (2M), some picks, and either Marcus Smart ($13.4M) or Tristan Thompson ($9.3M).  This would add up to somewhere in the $35m-$39M range so should work.  I'd have to think that if you are the Bucks, this has to be about the best possible return you could get for Giannis right?  They could continue to be competitive in the East led by Jaylen/Middleton while banking on the upside Jaylen and Timelord.   

Giannis just signed an extension, so he's be locked in for like the next 5 or so years. Could a duo of Giannis (who is 26) and Tatum (who is 23) form the core of a future Celtics dynasty?

Again I'm sure this probably won't happen, but it's not COMPLETELY out of the realm of possibility, right?

[radiohead]

A Giannis/JT duo would be insane. Giannis better be more of an inside presence though for them to be a real inside/outside threat.

[Ogaju]

First I must state with a disclaimer:- Yes, I know this is an extreme long shot and probably will not happen.  Now with that out of the way...

Giannis has been in Milwaukee for 8 seasons now and the teams he's played on have been pretty deep, but they have never given him that true #2 guy to play alongside him.  His next best player has been Middleton, who (lets be honest) is really no better then a #3 or #4 banana in today reality of "superteams".   

The Bucks just went down 0-2 to the Nets.  Lets say the Bucks lose real bad to the Nets, I'm talking a 4 game sweep or a 4-1 series loss. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that a hyper-competitive, perennial MVP candidate like Giannis may get frustrated and decide he wants to go and join up with a young superstar in the hope of competing for the next several years. 

Giannis will be making $39M next season.  If he were to demand a trade Boston could offer a package built around Jaylen Brown ($23.7M), Robert Williams (2M), some picks, and either Marcus Smart ($13.4M) or Tristan Thompson ($9.3M).  This would add up to somewhere in the $35m-$39M range so should work.  I'd have to think that if you are the Bucks, this has to be about the best possible return you could get for Giannis right?  They could continue to be competitive in the East led by Jaylen/Middleton while banking on the upside Jaylen and Timelord.   

Giannis just signed an extension, so he's be locked in for like the next 5 or so years. Could a duo of Giannis (who is 26) and Tatum (who is 23) form the core of a future Celtics dynasty?

Again I'm sure this probably won't happen, but it's not COMPLETELY out of the realm of possibility, right?

He has so many other destinations should he choose to bounce....Miami or GSW.

[Muzzy66]

A Giannis/JT duo would be insane. Giannis better be more of an inside presence though for them to be a real inside/outside threat.

That was the thought that got me excited. 

I was trying to think of who would be the best possible star to pair with Tatum, and I think Giannis would be up there.  His elite defensive presence, combined with his ability to absolutely dominate the paint...seems to me like the absolute perfect pair with Tatum's more outside/midrange oriented game. 

I even think Boston could keep Kemba in this scenario so long as they have a decent backup.  Come playoff time even if Kemba is only at 85%, pairing him with Tatum and Giannis could be a nightmare for opposing teams. 

[Muzzy66]

First I must state with a disclaimer:- Yes, I know this is an extreme long shot and probably will not happen.  Now with that out of the way...

Giannis has been in Milwaukee for 8 seasons now and the teams he's played on have been pretty deep, but they have never given him that true #2 guy to play alongside him.  His next best player has been Middleton, who (lets be honest) is really no better then a #3 or #4 banana in today reality of "superteams".   

The Bucks just went down 0-2 to the Nets.  Lets say the Bucks lose real bad to the Nets, I'm talking a 4 game sweep or a 4-1 series loss. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that a hyper-competitive, perennial MVP candidate like Giannis may get frustrated and decide he wants to go and join up with a young superstar in the hope of competing for the next several years. 

Giannis will be making $39M next season.  If he were to demand a trade Boston could offer a package built around Jaylen Brown ($23.7M), Robert Williams (2M), some picks, and either Marcus Smart ($13.4M) or Tristan Thompson ($9.3M).  This would add up to somewhere in the $35m-$39M range so should work.  I'd have to think that if you are the Bucks, this has to be about the best possible return you could get for Giannis right?  They could continue to be competitive in the East led by Jaylen/Middleton while banking on the upside Jaylen and Timelord.   

Giannis just signed an extension, so he's be locked in for like the next 5 or so years. Could a duo of Giannis (who is 26) and Tatum (who is 23) form the core of a future Celtics dynasty?

Again I'm sure this probably won't happen, but it's not COMPLETELY out of the realm of possibility, right?

He has so many other destinations should he choose to bounce....Miami or GSW.

What deals could they offer to Milwaukee that would match or exceed the appeal of the proposed Celtics trade?

Warriors could probably offer Wiggins and Wiseman, which is a nice offer as well - but is it better then Brown/Timelord/Smart?  And if this happens Giannis would be joinging a Warriors team with Steph (33), Draymond (31), and Klay (31 and coming off a torn ACL).  Even if Klay eventually comes back to his former self, I don't see more then a 2 or 3 year window of contention here.  Would that be as appealing to Giannis as a 7-8 year window with Tatum in Boston? 

Looking at Miami, they have the unfortunate issue right now of having a bunch of good players on large contracts and a bunch of good prospects on very small contracts, but not much of value in the middle.  Miami could offer Adebayo and Herro I suppose, which would be pretty appealing.  That would leave a core of Giannis, Butler and Dragic, which would surely be a contender.  That would probably be the biggest competition off the top of my head. 

Pelicans could be another option I suppose.  They could offer a package around Ingram and Lonzo Ball, which would also be a pretty strong offer for the Bucks while also allowing Giannis to join with Zion and Steven Adams.

Though neither Butler nor Zion are known for being great outside shooters, so I'm not sure if they compliment Giannis as well as Tatum would.

[LilRip]

If Giannis pairs up with JT, that would be nuts. Absolutely we’ll be contenders. And in this scenario, I agree we should keep Kemba. He’d be a great 3rd player behind Giannis/JT and can be the occasional microwave scorer/shooter the team needs him to be.

That said, I have no idea why Milwaukee does this. Lol

[cons]

I’d put it out there that if this series goes that badly for the bucks then giannis is overrated

[wdleehi]

I think the Bucks go the new Coach path first.   

[footey]

He just signed his max contract. He is not going to demand a trade. I agree that Coach Bud is on the hot seat, and will likely get fired if they get swept or lose in 5 to Nets.

Giannis really struggles in the playoffs when teams scheme him.  He still can't shoot, and his attacks to the rim can be defended pretty well with sound team defensive schemes. The key is cutting down transition buckets where he is impossible to stop. 

I'm very impressed with the Nets' defensive play this series. 

I think had we been fully healthy we would have beaten this Bucks team.  But not this Nets team, although the loss of Harden would have made it interesting. 

[johnnygreen]

Giannis signed a 5 year extension before the start of this season. The trade proposal offered here, seems like one for a top ten player discounted because they only have 1 or 2 years left on their contract. Due to Giannis’ contract extension, any trade proposal by the Celtics has to start with Tatum.

I do agree with some other posters here, the Bucks will hire a new coach depending on what happens in this Nets series. Also, don’t forget, the team traded a massive amount of first round draft picks for Holiday to pair with Giannis. I think that meant a lot to Giannis and he seems like loyalty means something to him.

[hpantazo]

The only way this happens is if players and their agents manipulate things behind the scenes to force it to happen. Like AD and Lebron did in LA or Kyrie , KD and Harden did in Brooklyn. Giannis does not seem to be that type of guy.

[Rosco917]

I think Giannis is committed long term. However if the Bucks continue to stumble in the playoffs he could go the Harden route and demand a path out of Milwaukee. 

The question is with the conception of Boston being a racist city, true or not, is Boston even in the picture? 

[bricone29]

LOL

1. A superstar demanding a trade to Boston
2. Kemba would make a great 3rd option for a contending team

[cons]

i do agree in general that eventually giannis will want out. its just too common not to happen.  and the supporting cast in milwaukee has always been second rate compared to other superstars.

[Moranis]

Aside from firing the coach, the Bucks are far more likely to trade Middleton than Giannis.  Perhaps a Middleton for McCollum swap. 

The reality is Middleton just isn't good enough as a #2 and has failed tremendously in the post-season (which will continue if they end up losing in 4 or 5).  I thought the addition of Holiday would make the Bucks tougher and a harder out, but watching this series, they seemingly don't have the horses.  Middleton needs to play like a #2 guy.  Maybe coming back to Wisconsin will ignite him and the Bucks get back in the series.  We've seen plenty of teams come back from 2-0 down (LA just did it last round), so a bit earlier to write the Bucks off, but Middleton needs to step up his game.  If Middleton doesn't, I expect him to be traded, not Giannis, and Boston doesn't have the pieces to acquire Middleton (he isn't worth Brown or Tatum and nothing else makes sense).