Sam Amick: Giannis probably on top of Rockets list

Too much. Take out Eason and Cam, maybe.

Man, Sengun has some detractors on this board.

 

lol, "probably" means this is nothing but a wild guess.

 

Lots of talk about what teams can put out the best offer, but as long as the offer is within reason these stars pick which teams they want to go to.
If I'm Giannis I would probably lean towards the Spurs.

I think the Rockets clearly have a better overall roster, but Spurs have a budding superstar in Wemby and a really good pg in Fox. Plus the 2nd pick in the draft along with some other good pieces. His game is a really good fit with Wemby and Fox...vs if he came to Houston I think there would be some concerns about fit and although I love Amen, with Wemby there are no doubts about who would be his superstar running mate...In Houston we'd just hope Amen would be that guy...

This is also why I don't like the run it back scenario...NBA isn't going to be stagnant...while some teams may drop off, OKC isn't going anywhere and teams like the Spurs can easily pass you by...especially if they add Giannis

 

Bucks and Yannis are meeting this or next week, will come out.

 

Good post that can open up a lot of talking points. The one I hadn’t considered was trading Sengun in a secondary trade. It means you would probably have to include more in the trade for Giannis, but maybe if you took a lesser player than Sabonis you could replenish either the other position players or draft picks. In every case whether we trade for Giannis or anybody or don’t trade at all, FVV needs to be gone.

Improbable, but my first try:
Rockets incoming: Giannis
Bucks incoming:
Jalen, #10, Phoenix 27,Dal. 29 swap, Rockets unprotected 30

Second trade:
Rockets incoming: Sabonis, Lavine, 2026 Sac pick protected 1-2
Sac incoming: FVV, Sengun, Cam, Landale

Rockets lineup:
Amen, Lavine, Giannis, Jabari, Sabonis Bench: Reed, Dillon, Tari, Adams, MLE addition

I think you have to do trade with Sac first in order to free up 25 pick to Bucks.
SAC does it to get Sengun and a project in Cam and 44m expiring they can trade at the deadline or let walk after the year and an immediate 8M releasing Jock

Rockets would be among the 4 best rosters in the league for the next 2 years minimum. Hopefully the 26 Sac pick would materialize into Lavine’s replacement at the end of his contract. The MLE should be used for backcourt depth in case Lavine gets injured or Reed doesn’t pan out.

 

Well, considering Giannis was good enough to carry his team out of the first round this year I think he's worth trading all of our best up and coming youth for.

(Sarcasm)

 

Nah you have this ass backwards, Sengun has some people who are glazing him up as if he's anywhere close to Giannis, he's not, at all.

 

It’s not completely irrelevant but I’m not sure how much the Rockets need to get Giannis so the Spurs don’t.

 

I think people making up the trades are forgetting that the Bucks don't have their own 1st until 2031. So they don't gain anything by tanking in any of the next 5 years. If the trade does go down, it's more likely to be something like Giannis + Kuzma + Connaghton (if he opts in) for Sengun + Green + Tari + Cam + 10th pick + Phoenix 2027 + Brooklyn 2027 swap. The Bucks will want assets closer to today and they will want to shed some bad salaries. Sengun, Green, and Lillard is a mix that should be competing for the play-in in the east so at least some competitiveness.

The Rockets in case keep Jabari, Brooks, and Reed, the 3 guys who have potential to be deadly shooters with Giannis on the court. FVV may return on a much cheaper deal. Kuzma can be a guy, and they probably use their 2029 Mavs/Suns picks to pick up another win-now player through trade.

Not saying whether this is the right move, but if the trade goes down, the Bucks are going to lean more towards players who can help them keep afloat.

 

You bring up something here that I think a lot of people don't consider. As you said this is the first opportunity that has presented itself, but we don't have to take it. If we do decide to stick with our current core, that doesn't mean we are 100% committed to winning with them. We would be able to pull the trigger on the next opportunity that presents itself. I don't know exactly who that is or when it will be, but I think our probability of winning a championship is higher if we wait than if we choose Giannis. The degree to which we would have to tear down and reconstruct our entire team to accommodate Giannis is just really really unappealing to me. I think the window with Giannis is likely to be 3 years, and I don't think we'd be able to get it done. A big part of why I hate this idea, though, is because I don't think Giannis can coexist with Amen. And I know that you said that you do. I can definitely see why it would be a much more appealing option if you don't think committing to Giannis means giving up Amen.

 

Unless something has changed, in the NBA the proper question is where does Giannis want to play, and does he prioritize location or personnel? The other question is, does that team have the assets to pony up?

The Spurs and Rockets have assets to make a deal happen. In fact a handful of teams can make a trade happen because they have a plethora of assets . The Bucks would like maximum value in return, but that is contingent on the desired locations for Giannis.

The Bucks spent all of their assets on dead ends, and now there are no meaningful reinforcements to assist another Giannis championship run. They would be very thin, unless they win a lottery like the Mavericks.

If Giannis wants to be a Rocket, Stone will find a way. And whatever deal is hashed out will hurt both fan bases. Rockets will feel they overpaid and Bucks will feel they got gypped.

 

Yep. Fans don’t make trades. It will take a few years to figure out who won a trade involving Giannis. I think Giannis is a Rocket if he wants to be and I just hope we don’t gut the team to make it happen. Either Sengun, filler and 2 great picks or Jalen, filler and 3 great picks. Filler does not include Amen, Jabari, Tari or Reed.

 

It wouldn't take THAT long to find out who won, the rest of Giannis' career won't be all that long.

If a team trades for Giannis, they have to win the championship within 3 or 4 years or they lose the trade. That's their potential window.

 

Serious question - how different would this be to the Rockets signing Dwight Howard at a similar time? One key diff is Howard was coming of a 3rd All NBA team vs Giannis 1st All NBA team (but 3 years older).

 

Dwight Howard had back problems that cut into his athleticism sooner than would be expected.... but yeah, getting Giannis now would be just about the same as when the Rockets picked up Howard given that Giannis is older.

 

Haven't payed any real attention to Giannis and his health, but has he had any "structural, chronic" problems with his body (feet/knee/back/stuff)...ala some taller guys like Yao/Odom/Dwight/etc/etc...?

 

"I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk."

 

Not that I know of other than some recurring knee issues, but the wall hits just about everyone in their mid 30's and Giannis isn't the type of player to have skill to fall back on when it does inevitably happen.

 

Yeah, this is really a hard choice for me.

On the one hand, you don't get this kind of opportunities very often. On the other hand, Giannis is already 30, and his style of game presumably won't age well.

So you blow up your core to get him and hope you can rebuild the identity of the team with good players, including a great second wheel, around him within a couple of years. I think Amen is the key here. He will likely be the only untouchable young guy if we are going to trade for Giannis. Will he improve (shooting and handling) to a level where his weaknesses doesn't overlap with Giannis's?