The competitive landscape of the NBA hung on Monday evening during a potential lottery apocalyps. The Dallas Mavericks And San Antonio Spurs Found themselves as the last two teams that stood for the rights to broadcast Cooper Flagg on the TV broadcast. The prospect that Flagg cooperates with Victor Wembanyama would have been devastating for the idea of parity that the competition has worked to cultivate, so that the two best prospects of their generation were coupled in their career early.
Instead, the traces were drawn at number 2, which means that the MAVs were somehow the lucky winners of the lottery with just a chance of 1.8 percent from the 11th place in the drawing.
Flagg only went to Dallas months after the franchise went Lakers Stolen directly headlines. The Spurs Landing at No. 2 in general is also a wild result, given their rumor that this summer is linked to the second best available on the NBA market.
The Giannis Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes have not really started yet, but it only feels like a matter of time. Antetokounmpo is said to be “open -minded” about changing teams this season outside the season after the Milwaukee Bucks‘Third consecutive play -off flameOut. Giannis has previously flirted with departure, but this year after the torn Achilles of Damian Lillard and with the limited ammunition of the bucks to make a big trade to make them back in real position.
The tracks were on our list of Giannis -Freerers from the start. If Antetokounmpo wants to play with another star player and compete for championships, Landing Besides Wembanyama, it seems to be its best bet, even with a switch from the easier Eastern Conference to the much more difficult West. Landing of no. 2 Pick and the rights on Rutgers Guard Dylan Harper makes their offer for Antetokounmpo a lot more attractive and gives them a legitimate chance to get him.
First, let’s add the players to make the salaries work.
Now let’s take the concept compensation. The Spurs already exchanged their 2027 -pick for De’aaron Fox in February. That means that they cannot exchange their picks from 2026 or 2028 because of the Stepien rule. Fortunately, San Antonio has a few scoops from other teams, and that is great for the bucks, who probably want to diversify their Picks portfolio.
Here is a realistic Picks package back to Milwaukee: Atlanta’s 2027 Pick, Boston’s 2028 Pick, The Spurs’ 2029 Pick. That makes the traces look like this:
San Antonio Spurs gets:
Milwaukee Bucks gets:
- Stephon Castle
- No. 2 General choice in 2025
- Hawks’ 2027 First Round Pick
- Celtics‘2028 First round pick
- Spurs’ 2029 First Round Pick
- Harrison Barnes
- Keldon Johnson
Do the Spurs have to make this offer?
There is a matter that the traces are better off on their assets for the time being than to catch up with Giannis. There is no doubt that Giannis is currently a top 3 player in the world, but he will be 31 in December, and he has endured a lot of physical banging with a few precious injuries. Giannis does not have a three -point shot and he has always been very familiar with his athletics, which is scary for a player as he gets older. Stephon Castle has just won Rookie of the Year, Harper is a very good prospect of number 2 this season, and those are many future choices that can be traded for a player that fits better with the Wembanyama timeline.
Yet I would do this as the traces.
A Wembanyama-Antetokounmpo combination would be great at both ends of the floor. The defensive benefit speaks for itself; This would be the best defensive basis in the competition. I also like the attacking fit if the Spurs can get a few shooters on the Roster. Wembanyama can be room for Giannis, the Spurs could falter their minutes to always have one superstar on the floor, the rebound would be overwhelming when both playing, and the transition possibilities caused by their defense would be very efficient.
A tweet went around on Tuesday from a Spurs fan with the text: “Castle/Harper can be something similar to SGA/J-DUB in 4-5 years.” The most likely scenario is that none of these players ever is as good as Jalen Williams, let alone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Castle is a poor shooter who can’t even make his free throws, let alone three. He scored far below the League average efficiency as Rookie with 52 percent real shooting. I liked that his defense came out UConnBut he feels most suitable as a fourth starter in an elite team, and that is not a player where you are on the table when Giannis is on the table. I love Harper more than Castle as a prospect, but he also has some mistakes that make it less than a SLAM Dunk at number 2.
Spurs -fans will say that this is much to offer for Giannis. They are right, but it may still not be the best package there is.
Do the bucks have to take the range of Spurs for Giannis?
I think it is possible that the bucks can do better than this.
I have the Houston Rockets As the biggest Giannis -freedom earlier this month. Houston can offer better and more attractive young players with higher picks at the top. If the rockets built an offer around Amen Thompson with two by Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard, plus the Phoenix Suns‘First round Picks in 2027 and 2029, plus some of their own choices, which feels best for me as the best possible offer from the Milwaukee perspective. It is possible that the Oklahoma City Thunder also gets in the Giannis Derby if they do not win the 2025 championship.
The bucks want a bidding war if they exchange Giannis, and the traces that land number 2 in the lottery certainly helps. It will probably take a huge package to get Antetokounmpo, and it really has to be from the perspective of Milwaukee, given that they do not control their own future assets and cannot refuel. It will be a stressful decision for every party involved, but this time it feels like it is going to happen.
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