Sengun provides more to this team than an aging Giannis would - his creation for himself and others alone makes us better overall. I would not trade for Giannis especially now that his calf/achilles is bothering him. DD
I'll go on record again and predict Luka is the one player who could become a factor in the MVP race with the Big 2. He may not win it because those two other guys are completely insane. I didn't think SGA could improve on last year, but he's actually done it (so far) and Jokic is having a career year at 30 years of age. Where Luka suffers the most compared to SGA and Jokic is efficiency and TOs. He doesn't value possessions to the quite same degree.
Lakers are 15-5, but their point differential is only +3.2 which is 13th best in the NBA they’re not as good as their record one thing I always found strange about Luka is he never gets the “anyone could score that much if they had the ball all the time and took all the shots” or “his scoring isn’t as impressive because nobody plays defense” or “you can’t win with his playstyle” rhetoric that Harden got constantly when he was dominating the league offensively he’s taking 12 free throws a game this year and it’s crickets
This is long. And it has probably been posted or talked about... but I would be so for this: Yes – in theory you can build a CBA-legal Rockets deal for Giannis without touching Amen, Sengün, KD, or Reed Sheppard. Here’s one concrete version that appears to work under the 2025-26 cap/apron rules. A lot of people say it can’t be done under the new CBA, but yes — you can construct a legal Giannis trade to Houston without giving up Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengün, Kevin Durant, or Reed Sheppard. Below is a full breakdown of a workable structure based on 2025-26 salaries, apron limits, and matching rules. This is not a fantasy “click trade override” thing. This version respects all the following: Salary matching bands for teams over the tax but under aprons First and second apron restrictions Hard-cap triggers (NT-MLE, DPE, etc.) Stepien Rule for draft picks Aggregation rules Player trade restrictions 1. GIANNIS TRADE FRAMEWORK Houston Receives Giannis Antetokounmpo – ~$54.1M Milwaukee Receives Fred VanVleet – ~$25M Jabari Smith Jr. – ~$12.35M Dorian Finney-Smith – ~$12.7M Clint Capela – ~$6.7M Draft Compensation: Multiple 1sts + pick swaps (structured around Stepien Rule) Total to Bucks: ~$56.75M Total to Rockets: ~$54.1M Houston sends out more than it takes back — important under apron rules. 2. WHY THIS TRADE IS CBA-LEGAL A. Houston’s Apron & Matching Check Pre-trade salary: roughly $194.7M First apron: $195.9M Second apron: $207.8M Houston is already just under the first apron thanks to the KD contract. After this trade: Houston sends out ~$56.75M Takes in ~$54.1M Team payroll drops to roughly $192M Meaning: Still over the cap Still paying tax But comfortably under the first apron, so no hard-cap issues No second-apron restrictions violated Because Houston is over the tax but under the apron, salary matching is simple: They can always take back less than they send out. So this passes cleanly. B. Milwaukee’s Apron & Matching Check Pre-trade payroll: ~176M (over cap, over tax, but well under aprons). After receiving ~$56.75M and sending out ~$54.1M: New payroll roughly $179M Still below both aprons Standard matching rules apply, and Milwaukee takes back about 105% of Giannis’ salary — which fits the allowed trade band. No aggregate restrictions apply because the Bucks are not a second-apron team. 3. CBA RULES THIS TRADE SATISFIES 1. Salary Matching Rules Houston (taxpayer, under apron): OK because they take back less. Milwaukee (over cap, under apron): OK because incoming is within allowed percentage. 2. Apron Restrictions Neither team crosses the first or second apron No illegal hard-cap triggers Trade reduces Houston’s cap, which helps them stay compliant 3. Stepien Rule Houston can still send multiple 1sts + swaps as long as they maintain at least one pick in every other future draft year. 4. Aggregation Rules Not applicable — neither team is above the second apron. 5. Player Restrictions None of the traded players carry no-trade clauses. Season timing must respect “recently signed” rules (mostly Dec 15 + 3-month windows). Everything passes. 4. ROSTER RESULTS Houston New Core Giannis Kevin Durant Alperen Sengün Amen Thompson Reed Sheppard Tari Eason / Steven Adams / Josh Okogie / Jae’Sean Tate, etc. This forms a legitimate contender-level frontcourt without losing the youth core. Milwaukee Rebuild Core Fred VanVleet (pro PG replacement) Jabari Smith Jr. (long-term stretch 4) Dorian Finney-Smith (3-and-D) Clint Capela (immediate starting C) Plus a giant pick haul Bucks remain competitive while gaining future value. 5. WHY THIS IS THE CLEANEST VERSION It uses only players Houston can realistically move without violating your conditions. No third team is required to fix salary, though you can add one if Milwaukee wants extra picks or prospect value via rerouting Capela/Jabari. It keeps the Rockets under apron thresholds, which is the #1 stumbling block in most fan-made Giannis trades. It gives the Bucks enough matching salary, rotation players, and future assets to consider moving a franchise star. This is about as real-world plausible as a Giannis-to-Houston deal gets without touching Amen, Sengün, KD, or Reed Sheppard. 6. SUMMARY Yes, the trade is possible under the new CBA. The clean, legal version is: Rockets OUT: VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., DFS, Capela, multiple 1sts + swaps Rockets IN: Giannis Houston stays under the apron, Milwaukee stays under both aprons, matching works, Stepien is respected, and your protected players remain untouched.
AI slop AI slop doesn’t know about the poison pill provision or Fred’s “NTC”. Jabari Smith Jr.: outgoing salary: $12,350,392 incoming salary: $22,391,732 (In this case, for the Bucks)
Yes was an AI post, just because I am not a capoligist so the assist was needed... the only hinderance here is FVV's NTC needing an ok for the trade. Even with the poison pill provision of Jabari's contract... it would still be within the 125% range of outgoing vs incoming salary though.
