Looks like Giannis will be on the move

[Jiri Welsch]

Giannis is on the wrong side of 30 and has a history of calf injuries. I hate to speculate about injuries but he seems susceptible to a "large event" injury.

I'm good with not blowing up the team. Hope he goes out West.

[Moranis]

Houston and San Antoinio are the 2 most obvious teams.  I'd put Detroit as a sleeper team.

[Who]

I am not sure San Antonio would be willing to give up Dylan Harper or Stephon Castle for Giannis. Already 31. Regular injuries at this point.

I think the Spurs will take the long term view and believe they will win more in the long run with these young guys than they do with Giannis.

I'd also wonder about Giannis hurting Wemby. Taking Wemby out of his prime touches / locations. Relegating Wemby to 2nd option. Harming his development.

[Who]

Do you trade Sengun for Giannis?

Sengun is only 23 years old. That is an extra 8 years of play you will get from Sengun vs Giannis. Sengun hasn't even reached his prime years yet. Still improving year on year.

Can Houston make a good enough trade offer while keeping Sengun? What would that look like? Do they have enough future picks?

Giannis & KD would be an awesome 1-2 punch.

[Who]

How about Cleveland?

(1) A trade based around Mobley for Giannis. Maybe DeAndre Hunter as cap filler.

Giannis gives them a legit franchise player. They have a terrific #2 in Donovan Mitchell. They still have Jarrett Allen & Darius Garland. That is one heck of a team. Maybe they trade J Allen to MIL too for M Turner to get a floor spacing 5 for Giannis.

(2) Jarrett Allen & Darius Garland for Giannis and filler.

Mobley moves over to center. Giannis at PF. Run and gun. The two guards in the backcourt. That team would be fun.

[KG Living Legend]

Would be really stupid to trade sengun Who, however if they can make the trade around Thompson and maybe Jabari might have to do that.

[Vermont Green]

My outlandish Giannis trade idea doesn't quite work, but would start with something like this:

BOS:
Sabonis, Portis

MIL:
Brown, Murray

SAC:
Giannis, and a first from MIL

MIL makes out getting Brown and Murray.  BOS trades a star wing for a star big and a solid big.  SAC could compete right away with Giannis + Lavine + DeRozan, plus gets a pick to bolster their future.  I know this doesn't quite work.  SAC probably does not do it, but food for thought.

[keevsnick]

My outlandish Giannis trade idea doesn't quite work, but would start with something like this:

BOS:
Sabonis, Portis

MIL:
Brown, Murray

SAC:
Giannis, and a first from MIL

MIL makes out getting Brown and Murray.  BOS trades a star wing for a star big and a solid big.  SAC could compete right away with Giannis + Lavine + DeRozan, plus gets a pick to bolster their future.  I know this doesn't quite work.  SAC probably does not do it, but food for thought.

I need people to understand that if your goal is winning a title trading Brown for Sabonis makes you dramatically worse.

I do not understand the fascination with Sabonis. We've seen time and time again that bad defensive centers put a hard cap on bow good your team can be. He's just not that good.

[slamtheking]

My outlandish Giannis trade idea doesn't quite work, but would start with something like this:

BOS:
Sabonis, Portis

MIL:
Brown, Murray

SAC:
Giannis, and a first from MIL

MIL makes out getting Brown and Murray.  BOS trades a star wing for a star big and a solid big.  SAC could compete right away with Giannis + Lavine + DeRozan, plus gets a pick to bolster their future.  I know this doesn't quite work.  SAC probably does not do it, but food for thought.

I need people to understand that if your goal is winning a title trading Brown for Sabonis makes you dramatically worse.

I do not understand the fascination with Sabonis. We've seen time and time again that bad defensive centers put a hard cap on bow good your team can be. He's just not that good.

agreed.  bad trade for Boston

[Moranis]

I am not sure San Antonio would be willing to give up Dylan Harper or Stephon Castle for Giannis. Already 31. Regular injuries at this point.

I think the Spurs will take the long term view and believe they will win more in long run with these young guys than they do with Giannis.

I'd also wonder about Giannis hurting Wemby. Taking Wemby out of his prime touches / locations. Relegating Wemby to 2nd option. Harming his development.

I think the Spurs should be living in the short term. I just don't think Wemby is going to have this long career at a super elite level (he could end up like Smits, but I think a better version of Sampson is far more likely).  I have no idea if they are taking that view, but they did trade 3 1st's for Fox last trade deadline.  That doesn't strike me as a long term type move.  If they can get Giannis for Castle or Harper and filler, they should.  Go for it now.

[Moranis]

Would be really stupid to trade sengun Who, however if they can make the trade around Thompson and maybe Jabari might have to do that.

Sengun is a great player, but is he ever going to be the best player on a title team type player.  I don't think so.  I'd certainly try to keep him if I was Houston, but if I had to move him to get Giannis, I would.  Giannis and Durant would be unstoppable. 

[jpotter33]

While better packages are certainly out there with younger stars, Brown is still young enough and has made enough of a name for himself the past few seasons that I think he could work as a centerpiece. Remember, Milwaukee is a small market team that is just as interested at staying relevant/competitive and putting butts in the seat as they are doing a true tear down and rebuild for the future, especially given that they don't really have and/or control their picks for the next four years. So bottoming out doesn't necessarily make them better now.

Something built around Brown, Hugo, and 2-3 1st round picks/swaps would likely be able to get it done in the summer, and give them a replacement marketable star, a burgeoning two-way prospect, and draft capital with possible potential, though I'm not sure if he will last that long past the deadline. If we were confident in Giannis' health and Tatum coming back in February/March, I'd possibly be interested in a bigger deal at the deadline to fill multiple needs, something like:

Boston: Giannis, Turner, Trent Jr.

Milwaukee: Brown, Simons, Hugo, 2030 1st, 2031 1st Swap, 2032 1st

That'd leave us with the following lineup:

PG: PP, Trent Jr.
SG: White, Scheierman
SF: Tatum, Hauser, Walsh
PF: Giannis, Garza
C: Turner, Queta, Amari

Still not sure I would do that for several reasons. First, JB has earned some loyalty, and while this would give him his own team to serve as the primary star of, I'm not sure how thrilled he be about this. Second, I'm not sure about Giannis' injury history and how well he will age. Third, Tatum is best suited (especially post-injury) as a long-term 4, which is the same spot as Giannis. Can they coexist together well enough to make it work on both ends? It does bring some *enticing* small ball possibilities, but you'd ideally want to see how Tatum looks coming back first before making that kind of move.