Rockets and Spurs push their chips in. Suns trade KD for depth and a lottery pick. Bucks go full rebuild. Pels pick up the #10 pick and some swaps but send the Bucks their picks back.
I have tried to solve a few big rumours: Rockets have been linked to KD, Spurs have been linked to Giannis, but the Bucks cant rebuild without their picks.
The trade value of KD is hard to find - you see trades on here for way too much or nothing at all. He is still an amazing scorer that doesnt look like slowing down anytime soon - he could average 25 points for another 5 years.....
The Suns are now younger and more athletic, but can still try to contend with Booker.
The Rockets now have one of the best starting 5's in the NBA, which includes a clear bucket getter to help down the stretch of playoff games.
The Bucks gets a haul that rivals the PG trade - less picks but more young talent. They can build around a Harper, Castle and JSJ core. They will have young players that will compliment Harper and Castle with shooting like Vassell, AJ Green, Rollins, Tyler Smith and possibly GTJ/KPJ. Sims is raw but may be a good big to pair with JSJ. Bucks can let the youngsters take the reins now that they have their 26 and 27 picks back.
Who knows.... Maybe they run it back with Giannis again when he is a free agent in 2028 (that's a joke.... but maybe?)
The Pels give up the valuable Bucks swaps, but pick up a second lottery pick this year (they could trade back if a team is desperate to jump into the top 10 and gain even more assets) I was also considering Green to the Pels and Zion to the Suns? It may be a better fit for the Suns.
Yeah, yeah, yeah - Spurs fans will say its too much for Giannis, but coming from someone who has been lucky enough to watch Giannis dominate the league for the last 7 years - he is definitely worth it! He has added a mid range shot to his "bag" and is unstoppable in the post. He isnt just a "run and dunk" player who relies solely on his athleticism like he used to. This catapults the Spurs into a championship favourite with Wemby still on his rookie contract - this is a very underrated part of a Giannis deal that isnt talked about enough.
I see Spurs fans wanting to draft Harper and just wait for him, Castle and Wemby develop into the championship contenders - the only issue with this is they will all be on max deals (as will Fox if he's still there) which would leave them in 2nd apron hell.
Go big now, and worry about life after Giannis while Wemby is holding another trophy or two.
Obviously I am a Bucks fan and created this trade wearing my Khris Middleton is good tshirt on. If i could add a 6th team in, I would send Kuzma to the Bulls and take the Williams contract off their hands. He would be a great athletic 3&D 4 PF that could play with Harper, Castle and JSJ. Another option would be to send Kuzma or Vassell to Portland with the PHX pick (something else would be needed) and take on Ayton (he'll want alot of money and will they want to pay him?) along with the Bucks picks they own?
My ideal starting lineup would be below:
Harper, GTJ/AJ Green/Vassell, Castle, Jabari Smith JR and Bobby Portis (if he wants to stay and mentor the young guys) / Williams if he is acquired from the Bulls for Kuzma (JSJ would play the 5) or Sims (not much shooting)
This sort of lineup would leave Rollins, KPJ, Vassell, AJAX, Tyler Smith and a handful of others that i may have mentioned above like AJ Green, Sims, Kuzma (build value up for a deadline trade)
The Bucks would be set up really well to build similarly to the Thunder/Pistons/Pacers with a number one guard in Harper (like SGA, Cunningham, Halliburton) with a young and athletic squad of shooters and defenders.
Go Bucks