Bucks can secure their future and build around Damian as they add BI as a second option, Sexton as Dame's backcourt partner and Jordan Hawkins for his 3PT shooting upside.
Sexton in his time in Utah has been sneakily good. 17 point per game alongside 4 assists on 49% from the field and 39% from three on 12 FGA a night, having a TS% of 60%. His hustle will make up for the lack of Dame's defence. Delon Wright and Taurean Prince are two good perimeter defenders meaning defensively the Bucks will be fine.
Brandon Ingram could flourish as a second option in Milwaukee and in my opinion, he can be very similar to his 2020 MIP winning and all star level self. This would mean he would put up 24/6/4 on 17 FGA a night (alongside a career high of 6.2 3PA a game). His shooting splits were also impressive, them being 46/39/85. Now obviously he won't put up these numbers or this volume, however I project him averaging 22/5/5 on similar shooting splits which would keep the Bucks competitive in the east.
Jordan Hawkins has great 3PT shooting upside in my opinion, which would be welcome in the Doc Rivers rotation. The 22 year old had a solid rookie campaign, averaging 8/2/1 on 8 3PA a game and shooting 36% from behind the arc. He did shoot 38% from 2 however this was on 2.5 attempts a game and made one on average meaning it's nothing to be concerned about.
They will get the Spurs 2025 pick if it falls out of the top 8, while also having the right to their picks in 2026 and 2027, ontop of having spurs pick in 2027, followed by a top 10 protected spurs pick in 2029 which is when Giannis contract will end. They will also have the right to Dallas's 2030 pick and 2 second round picks from Spurs.
Spurs go all in on Wemby sooner than they were expecting
To say Victor Wembanyama will be a top 10 player in the NBA by next year is not a crazy take at all and may be the truth by the end of the 2024-2025 NBA season. If and when so, the Spurs very may well be in a position to climb the west and enter the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Adding Giannis to the roster alongside Wemby may create the best frontcourt and defence ever assembled in NBA history and with Victor's 3 level scoring, ever evolving playmaking and his size mismatch alongside Giannis' unstoppable force, the Spurs offence will not let them down.
The Spurs lose a player that I'm a fan off in Devin Vassell and don't add much alongside Giannis, however this will open up more minutes to rookie guard Stephon Castle who looks very promising. Castle looks to have great defensive upside, has Chris Paul to learn from to develop his playmaking and looked good from the field, averaging 45% on 7.8 attempts in 21 minutes during preseason. However his 3 point shot needs to develop yet that shouldn't be too much of a concern because that's an issue with many rookie guards.
Why would the Jazz do this?
The Jazz are in an insanely stacked west and all they can do is sell for assets and build up the trade value of what they traded for.
Walker Kessler showed regressed statistically in his sophomore year, yet I don't think it's his fault. He started in 18 less games than his rookie season and played in 10 less than his rookie season. However with center minutes being crowded with players with even less value than the 23 year old, it only makes sense for them to trade Kessler.
Sexton was going to leave sooner than later I could imagine and getting a pure PG in Tre Jones and another 5 gives free up minutes for their young guys. I expect Drew Eubanks to not be on this roster for too long, giving minutes to their 2024 second round pick Kyle Filipowski some minutes to develop into. Keyonte George shows more promise as a two guard, and Taylor Hendricks can get a good amount of forward minutes. Isiah Collier will also be given the opportunity to show what he can do on an NBA floor.
They also get the right to a 2028 Celtics pick which is somewhat promising because of the huge expense of the Celtic's payroll.
Do the Pelicans get much better?
No in the regular season, yes in the postseason.
Their depth will be incredible, having two very good shot creators in CJ McCollum and Devin Vassell. Their perimeter defence will be their strongest area this season with Jose Alverado, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Dejounte Murray all being key in the rotation; however with either CJ or Vassell on the bench, their bench scoring will be something that could be the difference between better teams in close games.
Vassell got better last season, averaging 19 and 4 assists all while maintaining good efficiency both from the field and the three and also having a TS% of 60. This shows he can be an effective shot creator and is developing his playmaking. I've already mentioned Walker Kessler and how he regressed last season from his rookie season. Yet despite that, a center is exactly what the Pelicans need and one plus he's young player.
This move or keeping Brandon Ingram won't be the difference between the Pels being the 6th seed and them being the 2nd seed. Yet in the playoffs their depth could match well against every team in the NBA.