pmurt007 | Lakers

919 | 6 hours ago

The anti-Nico mindset

cricket9818 | Knicks

173 | 6 hours ago

All about offense and being fat

AndreasBlack20 | Pistons

48 | 6 hours ago

Never felt better about being offensively fat

wayward_prince | Hawks

4 | 5 hours ago

Zion fetching 12 FRPs and 4 swaps. Big Baby Davis highly sought after FA.

-KFBR392 | Raptors

3 | 4 hours ago

We getting Jokic?

bmoreboy410 | Mavericks

36 | 5 hours ago

It is basically common sense. Nico is just an idiot.

password-is-taco1 | Celtics

19 | 5 hours ago

Except Giannis is better than AD and Barnes is worse than Luka

Nugur

14 | 5 hours ago

Luka for Gianni’s would have made sense a year ago

Bruskthetusk | Lakers

7 | 3 hours ago

Yeah Nico would have had a way better argument for that trade than the one he did

HokageEzio | Knicks

742 | 6 hours ago

They aren’t close enough to contention to warrant that. Would be chasing Giannis simply to chase him.

North_Atlantic_Sea

189 | 5 hours ago

Yeah, we’ve already seen what Giannis + no help equals. Who ever trades him needs talent around him, otherwise what’s the point?

jboggin

47 | 5 hours ago

100%, and that would be such a depressing outcome for Giannis. He’s been a loyal Buck for 13 years. I seriously hope now that he’s finally asking out that he ends up on a team with a real shot, which I don’t think is the Raptors (especially without Barnes; if it was just picks and unimportant players, I think the Raptors would have a real shot with Giannis) or Warriors.

North_Atlantic_Sea

22 | 4 hours ago

The only positives I’d think is as a Greek guy, Canada is less insane, and has a large Greek community.

moistkebab32 | Suns

11 | 3 hours ago

That said Giannis + Barnes would be nightmare spacing. Neither can shot the 3 at all.

xxc6h1206xx

6 | an hour ago

Love Gianni’s. Hate this pairing for this reason. They both pls the same position. Both can’t shoot the three. Unless we had Steph or someone with real 3pt gravity, there’s no room to move in the paint, which allows a lazy double team.

Agreeable_Sample_925 | Knicks

70 | 5 hours ago

Unbiased but the market for Giannis is not existent jus trade him for KAT maybe we throw in the wizards 2nd rounder

GivesCredit | Warriors

44 | 5 hours ago

We’ll give them butler if they give giannis and a couple FRPs. No bias here either

Johnga20 | 76ers

9 | 5 hours ago

Well, your offer is much better since Butler contract will be a expire one and actually have real first rounds.

youarenut

8 | 5 hours ago

Was about to downvote till I kept reading lol

jboggin

40 | 5 hours ago

Yeah I wish more people talked about this. Giannis is incredible, and it makes sense to trade a ridiculous amount for him, but it only makes sense if it’s going to make you a title favorite. It makes no sense to trade away the entire future if the team is going to be like 6th or something in title favorite odds.

That’s also why I think the Warriors trading away all their picks for Giannis is going to be a bad move. The Warriors will be maybe the 4th favorite in the West and relying on the health of a 37 year old. If Jimmy was still healthy, I think the trade would make sense and they’d be real contenders. But if it’s just Giannis + Steph + a subpar supporting cast, I highly doubt that team is winning a title. And the same goes for Toronto. Anyone who trades the future for Giannis should know they are inner-circle title contenders.

Stank_cat67

23 | 4 hours ago

I don’t exactly disagree but I wouldn’t put real money against any team that has both Steph and Giannis on it.

jboggin

7 | 3 hours ago

Oh for sure. A team with Steph and Giannis could win any series against anyone. I’d never bet against those two even with a bad roster in an individual series. But I wouldn’t bet on them to be able to win 4 series. They’re going to be so reliant on a 37-year-old and a 31-year-old who has started to show some injury cracks. I don’t think they would have no chance. They’ll have two of the 20 best players of all time. But I don’t think I’d put them any higher than 4th in terms of favorites (assuming Jokic comes back healthy and Wemby stays healthy)

SaintDarthVader | Raptors

4 | 3 hours ago

The only hope would be this year - agree on the fit but they’d have no one else and huge injury risks

Fabtacular1

5 | 4 hours ago

It’s funny though, teams that are close would have to give up real talent to get him.

Like, you’re going to accept three picks and three swaps from Sacramento or Utah because those picks/swaps are going to be worth something. But teams that are in contention are going to likely only have worthless late first-rounders.

So kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation when trading for older stars like Giannis.

onionnurve

500 | 6 hours ago

The raptors needs to worry about getting a damn center first

randomtoronto1980

75 | 5 hours ago

Should they swoop in and grab Myles Turner as the Bucks blow it up? I haven’t watched much of him since the Pacers…

jackloganoliver | Magic

35 | 5 hours ago

If he’s cheap enough to get, I don’t see why not. Swap one bad contract for another and the contract is less of an issue.

Edit: Clarity and incorporated input from others.

crunkadocious | Pacers

18 | 5 hours ago

he’s contract is not cheap and he’s been playing really bad

Rodent_Reagan | Bucks

19 | 5 hours ago

been better recently, just had his best game of the season last night with 21/14/6

jackloganoliver | Magic

11 | 4 hours ago

Tbf he was adjusting to a new team, and that’s not a very good team.

It’s definitely a fair point, but I imagine he’d look much better in a better situation. I also meant that the cost to acquire him ought to be cheap precisely because of the contract. Swap Jakob for Turner and it’s just an upgrade assuming the draft compensation is modest.

NAW_MIP_2026

5 | 4 hours ago

I think they are referring to the price to acquire him(probably only 1-2 FRPs with his current play). It depends on the price but I think it could be a really smart move for the raptors, not only is he a pretty ideal fit next to Scottie(floor spacing 5), Scottie is also a pretty ideal fit next to him(rangy mobile defensive terror that can help with Turners rebounding issues). Same can be said for CMB. I think the big issue may be that Poeltls contract is so bad they probably have to add a pick just to get off of it, and that might make the overall price too much for the raptors. If they can get off Poeltl and swap him with Turner for 2 FRPs and a young player or something I think it makes this raptors team way better, but if the price jumps to 3 FRPs because of Poeltls contract I don’t think it makes sense anymore. It sucks because I feel like this raptors team could be really fun but they might be hamstrung by the Poeltl and Quickley contracts.

jackloganoliver | Magic

3 | 4 hours ago

Thank you for understanding what I meant lol

smalls_1804 | Knicks

4 | 4 hours ago

Raptors would be trading the Poetl contract so it’d be one bad contract for another

birdsindatrap | Magic

3 | 4 hours ago

a change of air could turn the tides

blagaa | Raptors

39 | 5 hours ago

What about the guy whose extension kicks in the season after next?

Rococoss | Warriors

26 | 5 hours ago

The one with no back? Don’t know about that

KrayzieBone187

15 | 5 hours ago

I still miss JV

doak-town-road

358 | 6 hours ago

Zach Lowe said the same thing

mMounirM | Raptors

242 | 6 hours ago

idk why this is controversial. we haven’t heard a peep about rockets considering trading Sengun for Giannis. and they’re in a better position to compete.

Diortheking | NBA

78 | 5 hours ago

And sixers wont trade VJ most the teams that wont him wont trade the guy the bucks would want probably why warriors picks keep getting mentioned so much

deltavim | Supersonics

71 | 5 hours ago

The Sixers lucked into VJ and salvaged the next decade of their existence, why would they throw it all away for a win now move that will fall apart the second Embiid bangs his knee

AngryUncleTony | 76ers

9 | 5 hours ago

Yeah if you make the trade it maybe gives you a 1-3 year window (at best), but it’s an April hyper extension away from being for nothing. I’d rather not trade away 10+ years of windows just for slightly better short term odds and much worse long term odds.

onionnurve

3 | 5 hours ago

The sixers don’t even want Giannis, bill simmons just brought up a trade idea and it exploded

Jaerba | DET

26 | 5 hours ago

Yeah, it’s not about 2026 Giannis for 2026 Barnes. It’s 2026-2030 Giannis for 2026-2030+ Barnes.

ViolinistLanky9056

30 | 5 hours ago

I’m definitely taking Giannis in those years without a second of consideration😂

RStud10 | Raptors

8 | 4 hours ago

You’re assuming it’s a 1:1 deal when it is not. It’d be Barnes + depth + like 4 first round picks. We’d be mortgaging our entire future and would not be surrounding Giannis with talent to compete

chesterpower

29 | 5 hours ago

That’s still Giannis. What makes it a question is Barnes at $45 million a year or Giannis at $70 million.

_Apatosaurus_ | Thunder

11 | 4 hours ago

It’s all of it. It’s the injuries, age, and cost of Giannis. I don’t think it should be remotely controversial to keep Barnes over Giannis.

LeagueWinningPickup

3 | an hour ago

It should be common sense, most reddit commenters seem unable to picture their favorite players declining though even when we can see it happening in real time.

Constant-Low-5111

82 | 6 hours ago

Sounds crazy though. Scottie is having a phenomenal year but Giannis is a top-5 player. I feel like it’s a lock he’ll be better for 3-4 years

AnselmoHatesFascists

43 | 6 hours ago

The track record on 30 something big men is not good. Even Kevin Garnett, look at his stats once he hit 32 years old.

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

25 | 5 hours ago

The track record on 30 something big men is not good.

It’s even worse than “not good”. As I’ve been posting here for a while now, elite play from 30-something tall players is very rare – and arguably unprecedented for a player of Antetokounmpo’s play-style and injury-history. Almost all such players were back-to-the-basket post players, who could afford to lose significant athleticism.

Age at last All-NBA team(any), players 6'10" or more:

38: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1st team), Tim Duncan
36: Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal
35: Wilt Chamberlain, Robert Parish, David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo, Kevin Durant
34: Patrick Ewing (only time past 30 ), Pau Gasol ( only time past 30 )
33: Bill Russell, Dirk Nowitzki
32: LaMarcus Aldridge
31: Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett
30: Tom Chambers, Marc Gasol, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis
29: Kevin McHale, Kevin Willis, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber, Al Jefferson, George Mikan, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns
28: Amar'e Stoudamire, Yao Ming, Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard, Deandre Jordan, Rudy Gobert
27: Domantas Sabonis
26: Brad Daugherty, Derrick Coleman, Vin Baker, Peja Stojakovic
25: Bill Walton, Jermaine O'Neal, DeMarcus Cousins
24: Ralph Sampson, Andrew Bynum
22: Andre Drummond, Chris Bosh

floody6

11 | 5 hours ago

That’s a very interesting table but also not as dire as you imply it is. If you filter the list on the scientific standard of ‘players that at some point were in the conversation for best player alive’ and ignore active players, the drop off starts at 31. The only exceptions there are Howard (who actually could be a Giannis comp in his freak athleticism and strength) and Walton (injury) Edit - and Mikan, but that’s a different era

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

8 | 4 hours ago

If you filter the list on the scientific standard of ‘players that at some point were in the conversation for best player alive’ and ignore active players…

On the other hand, if the filter is “players who rely on athleticism”, the only example of elite play after thirty is Kevin Garnett at 31.

If the filter is “oft-injured players who rely on athleticism”, the list is naught.

Maybe Antetokounmpo can re-invent himself as a shooter like Durant or Nowitzki, but I am not placing that bet, myself.

floody6

4 | 4 hours ago

To be clear - it’s not that disagree with you all that strongly, but to play devils advocate, there aren’t many lower on the list that I would say built their games on athleticism either. There just aren’t many insanely athletic, elite players over 6’10. A further quibble that ‘athletic’ is hard to precisely define on a list like this

WhichHoes | Warriors

3 | 5 hours ago

Yeah but that was also a decade ago. In that same time, an ACL zapped athleticism. Dudes are coming back more athletic than they left.

We do not have a record of Healthcare being this good for nba athletes to know how everyone will age.

Westbrook should have been done 5 years ago on the previous medicinal standard.

AnselmoHatesFascists

7 | 5 hours ago

Sure, but I would still rather roll the dice with a younger Scottie Barnes

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

15 | 6 hours ago

It’s about long term upside + the roster fit would just be bad

GeneralDebate

35 | 6 hours ago

I don’t see how Scottie’s upside as the best player on a 50-win team that may or may not ever make the ECF trumps Giannis’s potential to deliver them a championship with some injury luck

Thommywidmer | MIL

25 | 5 hours ago

Its the logic that builds good, not great teams. The simple truth is your pretty much never going to win a ring without having a giannis tier talent on your team. It just doesnt happen.

Dr_Anne_frankenstein | Australia

15 | 5 hours ago

It’s also the logic that builds teams like the Suns, Nets, Clippers, and Kings. You do need a Giannis tier talent to win, but gutting your team to get them rarely works out. The raps philosophy has always been to accumulate assets and then try and get those premium talent players when their value is at an all time low. Just the realities of being a small market/Canadian team, can’t sign big players in free agency so have to be very cautious with trades.

Thommywidmer | MIL

4 | 5 hours ago

Great supporting cast is usually also required for a ring, it just doesnt matter if you have one or not until you have your star

Takemyfishplease | Lakers

3 | 5 hours ago

I’m curious when the last time a team won with a legit top tier superstar, it’s been a while for sure.

Sure in a few years Barnes might be better but he isn’t now and not for the next few at least.

The_Summer_Man | Warriors

6 | 5 hours ago

Probably the 2013-14 Spurs team. They had Timmy, who was nearing the end and Kawhi who wasn’t quite the guy at that point, and great supporting players all around that made it possible. After that Finals though, a lot of people were saying that Kawhi was now one of those guys and they were proven correct.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

22 | 5 hours ago

He’s had multiple calf injuries just this year, on the wrong side of 30, makes a billion dollars, and most importantly WE DO NOT HAVE THE ROSTER TO SUPPORT HIM

Giannis is not carrying a supporting cast of Brandon Ingram + zero shooters + at most 2 other positive defensive players to a championship. Hed instantly place us in a 2 year competition window while leaving us with no way to add talent to the roster because the bucks would expect a million picks

I feel like you guys are thinking this exec is saying Scottie is better than Giannis in a vacuum and that’s just not the conversation anyone is having

AstralisMoon

19 | 5 hours ago

Because they’re not winning with Giannis there as currently constructed. It’s gonna be like LAL, two years of Luka wasted because the team wasn’t ready to accomodate him. TOR has a gaping hole at C and we all know Giannis likes having a good C. Scottie is the defensive heart of that TOR team. Giannis ain’t anchoring that shit by himself. They’re both good help defenders. So.. they’re not winning now. Probably not next year either. Is wasting one half of Giannis worth seeing if Scottie’s upside is more than just the best player of a 50-win team? Probably not. Dude’s 24 and has improved every year at every facet of the game.

Ok_Respond7928

3 | 5 hours ago

Because if you send out Scottie plus more the team Isn’t good enough to win a chip this season

TraditionalError9988

14 | 5 hours ago

He WILL be better for the next 3 to 4 years.

He won’t be better overall for the next 10 years though.

Starting next season as year 1, go out 10 years and come back and see who produced more.

Not a not on Giannis at all, tis just his age. He’s also had quite a few injuries, several calf injuries and he’s already 31 so while he might not be made of glass, getting older isn’t going to help him stay on the court more than he has been the last few seasons.

Look at Kobe’s last few seasons due to age and injury and that’s inside of this 10 year widow I’m talking about.

Kobe from 33 to 37 wasn’t good and it wasn’t all injuries yet, just being older. At 34, Kobe played in 78 games and played a bit over 3,000 mins, so he was healthy.

But from 33 to 34, Kobe’s offensive rating was only 103, it was 110 for his career. His defensive rating from 33 to 37 was 109 and it was 105 for his career.

With Giannis being 31, 33 to 37 isn’t far away. No, just Kobe fell off and was injured doesn’t mean Giannis will but it’s a fast physical game and I’d rather have a very good 24 year old going forward than a superstar guy who is about to be 32 (he’ll turn 32 in Dec of next season, so early on next season) with an injury history.

I think Barnes will outproduce Giannis for the next 10 seasons simply due to age.

yeahright17 | Thunder

6 | 5 hours ago

I think there’s a strong chance Barnes is a more valuable piece by the 28-29 season. Giannis will still probably be more talented, but would you rather have 50 games of the 8th best player in the NBA and be worried about playoff health or 75 games of the 15th best player in the NBA and not be worried about playoff health?

veringo | Nuggets

7 | 5 hours ago

When was the last time a team traded a bunch of stuff for an aging star and it worked out?

I think front offices have learned unless you’re trading stuff you didn’t want anyway (Houston for Durant or Toronto for Kawhi), you’re just so unlikely to be the exception.

JaderMcDanersStan | Timberwolves

10 | 5 hours ago

You could argue trading for a 30 year old Rudy Gobert was trading for an aging star. It worked out for us though. Wouldn’t have made it to two WCFs and have the defense we do without him

But I agree it generally doesn’t work out. We also didn’t trade any young stars who could become MVP like the Clippers did with Shai. Most of the players we traded are out of the league or very mediocre so it doesn’t feel as bad.

Ok_Respond7928

4 | 5 hours ago

He’s 31 has had a ton of lower body injuries over the last three seasons and is very dependent on athleticism to be so great.

I don’t think Scottie ever comes close to Giannis of course but I don’t think it’s crazy to want a guy who is 7 years younger and is having an excellent season over the long term.

Hopsalong | Nuggets

147 | 6 hours ago

Scottie Barnes is underrated around the league and should be a no-questions all star this year. He’s not this underrated.

This is something you say to drive the cost of Giannis down when trading Scottie Barnes for Giannis. If you’re gullible like Nico, you’d buy it.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

104 | 6 hours ago

We are not trading Scottie Barnes for Giannis

TheDraciel | Canada

35 | 6 hours ago

Yeah, what would be the point in trading for Giannis if you give up Scottie. Scottie is Toronto’s guy.

foaaz101 | Pistons

24 | 5 hours ago

It’s not just that. You don’t have the talent to contend without Scottie. It would just be Milwaukee part 2

Giannis can’t really carry a team to the postseason

Will_122 | Bucks

9 | 4 hours ago

i understand why raps fans want to keep scottie+picks and depth, but suggesting giannis can’t carry a team to the playoffs is a wild take

hell even this current iteration of the doc rivers-led bucks would likely be a ⁷⁄₈ seed if he was healthy…. 16 missed games this year and on minutes restriction in half of the 30 he has played

TheRatManBob | Spurs

6 | 5 hours ago

Giannis would go from having the like 8th best player from 2017 Lakers to the 4th so that is progress

msf97

28 | 5 hours ago

Barnes is 5 years in and averaging 19/8/6 on 57.5% TS.

His absolute peak will be a number 2 option.

PsychoM | Raptors

34 | 5 hours ago

If the Bucks wanted to trade Scottie for Giannis straight up, I would be the first to drive Scottie to the airport, and I love Scottie. The problem is that the Bucks want Scottie, picks and our depth. What’s the point in getting Giannis if the rest of our roster isn’t good enough to win a championship and we have no way to build around him? We’re just trading places with the Bucks at that point.

RegulationRaptorsFan | Raptors

13 | 5 hours ago

You’re ignoring his DPOY-level defense, but regardless, we wouldn’t be good enough to win the chip with Giannis anyway. So why give up our future when we won’t have a chance to win in the present? It’s not worth a conference finals appearance

redditsuckbadly | Bulls

12 | 5 hours ago

If the argument is Giannis doesn’t change the Raptor’s timeline, I totally agree. If it involves suggesting Scottie is comparable to Giannis or might peak near Giannis, I totally disagree.

msf97

3 | 5 hours ago

If the trade was Barnes for Giannis straight up you’d accept and laugh at the Bucks on the way out.

In the real world they’ll ask for a bunch of picks and probably 2 other players, but straight up the trade is a wash

RegulationRaptorsFan | Raptors

6 | 5 hours ago

Straight up doesn’t work for salaries, and yeah I assume they’d want some picks as well

csoups | Raptors

3 | 5 hours ago

That doesn’t mean it’s worth a couple years of good maybe great Giannis to trade him.

-xXxMangoxXx- | Raptors

4 | 5 hours ago

Lets say we trade Scottie, CMB, some filler contracts and picks to beat everyone elses offer, do we have a roster to compete in the next 2-3 years after that? It doesn’t matter if his best is the second best player on the team, and won’t ever reach Giannis’s level, all that matters is he’s much younger, and gives us more time to compete.

Our center has back problems and our 3 point shooting is ass. Once we make the trade, we’re stuck with the roster we have for the time being, and as is, we aren’t competing with any of the top teams.

AllOutRaptors | Raptors

2 | 5 hours ago

Using counting stats shows me you don’t actually watch Scottie. His impact goes SO far beyond the stat sheet.

foaaz101 | Pistons

6 | 5 hours ago

plot twist: anonymous NBA exec happens to be Raptors GM

clockwork_purple2

126 | 6 hours ago

I love scottie, I understand why the Raptors don’t want to trade him and think he will continue to improve as a player but this switch in narrative to try and act like Giannis is a bum is disgusting

smootheoneisback

48 | 6 hours ago

Trying to lower that man’s value

swalsh21 | 76ers

46 | 5 hours ago

No one thinks he’s a bum, but he’s a big guy whose game hinges on athleticism who is aging and is currently injured and only under contract for two years.

knitwoolf | Raptors

9 | 5 hours ago

And has missed significant playoff time the last few years with reoccurring leg injuries and is currently out again with one

Stuffleapugus

12 | 5 hours ago

Not a bum. Just old. He’s in his 13th season. Think of all great bigs. Look at their career at 32, 33, 34, etc. Look at them in their 14th, 15th, 16th season. Now look at the trade capital it takes to bring in someone like Giannis, and the fact that he’ll demand a supermax extension.

In a couple years, you could very likely be paying +70 million to a guy struggling to stay on the court, with no draft capital, and a young star you drafted thriving with a conference rival.

Ravens181818184 | Washington Bullets

15 | 5 hours ago

He’s still a top 5 player rn and likely will be the next 2 season onwards He’s only 31

Stuffleapugus

9 | 5 hours ago

Only 31. Again, look at the track record of great bigs at 32. Look at the track record of great bigs in their 14th season. Look at Duncan. Look at KG.

He isn’t KD. He isn’t a guy who can just get to his spots and shoot jumpers over everyone into his late 30’s. His game is built on being explosive.

-xXxMangoxXx- | Raptors

11 | 5 hours ago

Giannis is 31 and relies on freak athleticism. We have a narrow window to win with Giannis and if we make this trade, we’re basically stuck with that roster. I don’t think Giannis is going to be a kawhi like situation as the 2019 raptors was stacked.

Basic_Mark_1719

91 | 6 hours ago

Lol why is he acting like Barnes isn’t making $40 million plus

prodigus01 | Raptors

38 | 5 hours ago

Barnes is making 50. Giannis is going to want more than that.

You also have to deal with the BS superstars on expiring contracts put you through as leverage over the season. Incessant headache we don’t have to go through.

Edit: Barnes is at 38 now and 50 later in the contract.

Basic_Mark_1719

59 | 5 hours ago

Sure but Giannis is also a much much better player. $60 million for Giannis is way better than $50 million for Barnes.

Dramatic-Document | Raptors

27 | 5 hours ago

Giannis is making $58mil next season and $62 mil the season after that. Scottie is making $41mil and $44 mil those same years.

AccomplishedRainbow1 | Suns

12 | 5 hours ago

You still want Giannis, no?

If this isn’t the swing you take, what is the swing?

Dramatic-Document | Raptors

20 | 4 hours ago

If it was a 1 for 1 trade its a no brainer, but Raptors would have to gut their team and trade away a bunch of picks to get this done. The downside of Giannis is the extension and back half of the deal, so you need to be able to trade for him and compete over the next 2-3 seasons.

Basic_Mark_1719

8 | 4 hours ago

I don’t think it’s worth it for the Raptors but it definitely is with the Warriors. Raptors front office is still competent and does a great job scouting and developing talent. Warriors on the other hand absolutely suck at both so once Curry leaves those draft picks will just all be busts. Might as well win now and fuck the future.

knitwoolf | Raptors

8 | 4 hours ago

Wtf no. Barnes is making 38. He doesn’t even get into the 50s until the 29-30 season at 51 mil

Yimmer93

3 | 5 hours ago

Don’t forget you might be forced to sign his brothers to keep him happy as well lol so it’s also about roster spots.

Hour_Glass57 | Lebanon

3 | 4 hours ago

Might want to edit that by like 10M champ, barnes is making closer to 40M than 50M

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

88 | 6 hours ago

Is Giannis going to be the better player over those years? I don’t know about that.

Barring injury? Almost guaranteed. Giannis will still be a top 10ish player at age 35. Barnes is good, but I don’t expect him to be that good.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

59 | 6 hours ago

Giannis has had 3 injuries just this year, 2 of them calf strains (which he has a history of)

You can’t barr injury at this point in his career

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

21 | 6 hours ago

Have any of those injuries prevented him from being a top 3 player in the league for the better part of a decade? By “barring injury,” I meant a catastrophic one. Like an ACL or and Achilles. Not ankle sprains or groin strains…

HokageEzio | Knicks

36 | 6 hours ago

He’s 31. You have to consider the prospects that this is closer to his new norm than previous years. Which is to say, dominant when he plays but he plays less.

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

13 | 6 hours ago

I took it a step further and assumed Giannis would be a top 10 guy instead of a top 4 guy like he is now. Scottie Barnes is not that. And outside of a miraculous improvement, will never be.

pwningnoobslolz | Lakers

15 | 5 hours ago

Doesn’t matter if you’re the best player in the world if you are missing playoff games due to injury

matt__builds | Knicks

13 | 6 hours ago

Honestly yes. He missed ²⁄₅ games (only played 10 minutes in game 1) in the 23 playoffs and was clearly hurting in the other games. Missed all the 24 playoffs. He is now currently injured for 4-6 weeks. It would be hard to argue he is top 3 the last ³⁄₄ seasons when he has been out for so many important games.

You can’t ignore staying healthy when it comes to a guys value. When he’s playing he is top 3, but if you aren’t available when it matters then it isn’t worth much.

KingInTheFarNorth | Vancouver Grizzlies

4 | 4 hours ago

But the likelihood of him having an Achilles tear, giving his history of calf strains is astronomically higher.

I would not trade Scottie Barnes for Giannis considering the later will be a supermax, earning $69m (nice) on his next contract and has a non negligible chance of having a catastrophic injury in the near future.

Obviously Giannis is the better player and you have to gamble if you want to win in this league, but it just seems too risky to me. I don’t think this Raptors team +Giannis -Barnes is good enough to win the chip anyways.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

5 | 6 hours ago

How would injuries this year prevent him from doing anything in the past?

Guess Nico was right to trade for AD, cuz he was an absolute monster in the late 10s into early 2020s.

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

9 | 6 hours ago

AD got traded for Luka, the better player. In this scenario Giannis would be getting traded for the worse player… Your mental gymnastics flipped you upside down…

Torkzilla

3 | 6 hours ago

Smart GMs aren’t lining up to max out athletic players in their 30s with recurring injuries.

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

8 | 6 hours ago

Really? Cause every “smart” GM would offer Giannis a max extension if they had a chance to keep him.

pwningnoobslolz | Lakers

9 | 5 hours ago

Yes they would max him instantly, 30 out of 30. Most of them won’t trade a haul though

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

3 | 5 hours ago

Yeah but that’s because most of those teams would not be able to build a contender after trading away assets. And thus would not be able to retain him. If they could, they’d trade the haul.

HokageEzio | Knicks

7 | 5 hours ago

They’re not signing him in free agency though. They’re trading a ton of assets to get him.

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

3 | 5 hours ago

Yeah and any team that does not have the spare pieces to build a contender around him after the fact would not trade for him.

AllOutRaptors | Raptors

3 | 5 hours ago

You cant say “well injuries didn’t effect him when he was 26 so they won’t when he’s 32” like what a weird take

sctthuynh | GSW

58 | 5 hours ago

Hawks won’t trade Jalen Johnson.

Toronto won’t trade Barnes.

Rockets seemingly won’t trade Sengun or Amen.

Who’s the best young player the Bucks can get for Giannis?

IPTV241

34 | 5 hours ago

Ware at this point tbh.

That’s why their focus has to be on getting the highest value picks like what OKC did for years.

TenaciousDeer

12 | 3 hours ago

Max Christie

Along with AD and a first

AccomplishedRainbow1 | Suns

13 | 5 hours ago

The Rockets not giving Sengun or Amen is crazyyyy work, if true.

ObviousAnswerGuy | NYK

6 | 3 hours ago

Sengun is their new franchise tentpole so I get it, but not giving up Amen is crazy

Cannolioso

4 | 3 hours ago

Speaking as a Rockets fan, I’d rather have Sengun and Amen. They’re a decade younger, home grown, and getting better every year.

What the Rockets need is a set up guy that can play decent defense and stretch the floor. Reed is still developing and isn’t the best defender so he can’t play this role consistently. FVV injury hurt a lot and Adams going down doesn’t help.

If the Rockets make the WCF this year it’ll be a successful season, but I could also see them winning only one round this year. Next year is their big shot imo and I think we need to keep the core intact until at least the end of next year to let that play out.

AccomplishedRainbow1 | Suns

4 | 3 hours ago

You could be a huge championship threat right now, and it aligns with your KD timeline.

Sengun and Amen are so flawed, I would not want to hitch my wagon to those guys.

Aussie_Spur | Spurs

3 | 3 hours ago

Has Sengun actually got better this year compared to last year? Him and Amens jump shot definitely haven’t. And if they never develop one. You will never win a championship

thealternateopinion

5 | 3 hours ago

Banchero. Giannis is a great fit on Orlando with Franz and Bane

dank-kush | Hornets

46 | 6 hours ago

Giannis is basically who you want Scottie to be lol. I can understand it tho if it’s Scottie and like all their picks, the roster would not be good enough to win.

Broke_Banker01 | Bucks

42 | 6 hours ago

Barnes has never been a 20 PPG scorer in his career.

Giannis has had one leg all season and still is averaging 28.

Giannis at 34 will put up better numbers than Barnes best season in his career.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

17 | 5 hours ago

Barnes scoring averages

19.4 PPG in 2025

19.3 PPG in 2024

19.9 PPG in 2023

Obviously giannis clears but this 20ppg line is very odd for a guy who’s primary skills are not scoring based

AlternativeLiving325

7 | 5 hours ago

Just because LeBron defied age doesn’t mean everyone will lol. Look at the general history of players getting older and closer to 35. Especially players who rely on physicality instead of shooting.

AllOutRaptors | Raptors

6 | 5 hours ago

Bradley Beal scored 30 per game. Was he better than Steph that year?

Using ppg to discuss 2 guys who’s main impact comes outside of scoring is a really dumb way to look at it

ker1235

19 | 6 hours ago

This is actually insane teams don’t want to give up assets for a top 3 player in the NBA. If he falls to the warriors they will only have themselves to blame when they win the chip this year.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

12 | 6 hours ago

He’s had 2 calf injuries this year, a history of lower body injuries, plus an adductor injury this year as well.

You don’t give up a 24 year old guy who is going to be an all star and all defense winner this year plus likely most of your picks for Giannis at this point.

That’s before even getting into roster fit

Bigdadyk

7 | 6 hours ago

That’s if GA is healthy. He isn’t going to play before March and had 4 calf strains in 2 years

onionnurve

4 | 6 hours ago

Too many teams in the past made the mistakes of thinking that one superstar could fix the million roster issues they have. There’s no point of trading for a top player if it doesn’t make the composition of your team better. The raptors for example don’t need a Giannis, they need a center

JustCallMeMichael | Heat

2 | 5 hours ago

Teams overrate their guys all the time

heat_fan_ | Raptors

19 | 6 hours ago

Im a Scottie guy but are you serious

masterchef757 | Mavericks

21 | 6 hours ago

I mean does a Scottie for Giannis trade win you the chip? Cause that’s the only way it’s worth it.

Bullboah | Bucks

9 | 6 hours ago

The raptors aren’t in a position where it makes sense to trade for Giannis, but that’s not the point the exec is making - which is that Scottie is more valuable than Giannis.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

8 | 5 hours ago

The executive is making that point from the position of the raptors. We are not ready to contend so why would we trade an amazing young player for a guy who needs to win in the next 2 years

Briggity_Brak | Tampa Bay Raptors

4 | 5 hours ago

Worked with Kawhi.

AllOutRaptors | Raptors

6 | 5 hours ago

Scottie is better than Demar and Giannis would cost more

Ok-Purchase-5497

15 | 5 hours ago

I mean if you trade for Giannis presumably it’s to play with your established star, rather than completely remaking your franchise around him.

DeniAvdijaMVP

16 | 6 hours ago

Asinine.

Cool_Youth3564

14 | 6 hours ago

Fire whoever said that and hire me

syp2207

11 | 6 hours ago

not trading scottie for giannis because it wont make you contenders so its a waste of resources, makes sense. but i doubt scottie will ever be as good as giannis is now or in the next 4 years.

This_Field_7872 | Hawks

11 | 5 hours ago

There are two conversations happening here. 1. The raptors absolutely shouldn’t trade Scottie Barnes, that would defeat the whole purpose of doing this. 2. Unless there’s a superstar offensive leap in Scottie that last part is frankly insane lmao

likewoahitsaj | Bucks

8 | 5 hours ago

Giannis’s health is an issue, but when healthy it is objectively untrue that Giannis is beginning his decline lol. By every statistical measure he is better than ever

Honestly, there is no chance Scottie is better than Giannis over the next 4-5 years but the actual reason you don’t trade him is bc Giannis wants a contender and so the raptors would need to keep some of their good players

Wet234

8 | 6 hours ago

lol that “exec” heading towards the unemployment line with that thought process. Respectfully, what has Scottie accomplished?

submachinegun1 | Raptors

7 | 6 hours ago

Sct Brn

dynorphin | Warriors

5 | 6 hours ago

Dude hasn’t even gotten his team to waste a roster spot on his bum of a brother.

FoolishPerformer

12 | 6 hours ago

True, his team wasted a roster spot on his bum of a highschool friend instead

BucksFan654 | Bucks

7 | 6 hours ago

I’d be distraught if Giannis was traded for Barnes straight up. That would be robbery.

username_x | Bucks

7 | 6 hours ago

I would be pretty happy about that if we got some picks? Barnes is fucking nice

LeftDefinition5180

6 | 5 hours ago

Giannis the guy averaging the most points per minute in the NBA he is slowing down real hard! We are really saying Scottie Barnes is off limits for him?

lilcitgofm

6 | 5 hours ago

Toronto only gets better if they can keep Scottie while still getting Giannis. They don’t become any more meaningfully competitive if they lose Scottie and gain Giannis.

Kevin_Jim | Bucks

7 | 4 hours ago

Two things one needs to consider:

players that will never have a single peak season that is even close to Giannis’ worst can be traded for a lot: see Mikal Bridges, Bane, etc.
Incredible all-time talents can be traded for nowhere near their trade value

This statement makes sense in the context of “Why would I trade a good player that will stay with my team for the next ten years for a guy that might not even stay for one? When, even with him on the roster, we are not going to seriously compete.”

IF it was a championship team or an amazing team full of talented players but didn’t have THE guy, then it would be insane to not do that trade.

It’s all about context.

gm5891

5 | 6 hours ago

That exec? Bobby Webster

axecalibur | CHI

5 | 4 hours ago

Well it depends what your goal is. If you are positioned to win multiple titles in the next 4 years and you are willing sell you make the Giannis deal. If your team isn’t in that position it would be pointless to make a trade.

jsun_ | Lakers

3 | 4 hours ago

Exactly. This is just your typical rage-bait tweet.

gab_owns0 | Heat

5 | 4 hours ago

Ngl, I would probably agree. Scottie is real nice and he’s only 24.

birdmilk

5 | 4 hours ago

These are such obvious thoughts a gm should be going through. Non starter

NoLimitSoldier31

0 | 6 hours ago

Scottie has never averaged 20 ppg or had league average shooting. Not saying he isn’t a plus player but cmon i’d take 1-2 years of superstar play over that for 4. You win with your best player for the most part.

BayesBestFriend | Raptors

6 | 6 hours ago

He’s averaged 19.4,19.3,19.9 PPG the last 3 seasons

Not that scoring is his strong suit but kinda funny to draw a line at 20ppg when he’s been right there consistently

lialialia20 | Timberwolves

5 | 6 hours ago

is giannis better than barnes currently? yes

will 32yo giannis be better than 25yo barnes next season? almost certainly yes

will 33yo giannis be better than 26yo barnes in 2 seasons? very likely yes

will 34yo giannis be better than 27yo barnes in 3 seasons? probably, maybe not

will 35yo giannis be better than 28yo barnes in 4 seasons? not likely

VegasWorldwide

3 | 5 hours ago

I’d be very skeptical trading for Giannis. he turns 32 this year and his game is all athleticism. in the last 7 years, he’s played more than 67 games only once.

whoever trades for him will have to give a massive extension that would likely take him to age 37.

obviously, he’s still super valuable but not as much as he was 2 years ago. barnes is a complete player who we still don’t know his ceiling. in a couple years, his contract will look very good.

Toronto needs to package a deal around RJ and CMB

owensoundgamedev | Raptors

5 | 5 hours ago

I kinda agree. Scottie Barnes will never get to Giannis levels of talent but let’s not pretend that Giannis isn’t on the wrong side of 30 and has injury issues.

ContractVarious3077 | Raptors

4 | 4 hours ago

Giannis is obviously a better player than Scottie by quite a bit but there’s no point in trading them for each other because a Giannis-led Raptors without Scottie isn’t THAT much better than what we have now. Certainly not enough to beat the top-tier teams. Giannis to Toronto only makes sense if we can keep Scottie as the #2 guy

OrganicValley_ | Bucks

3 | 6 hours ago

This is why the Bucks would be smart to hold until the offseason, unless someone’s offer blows them away.

inquisitive_chariot

3 | 5 hours ago

Scottie is him, man. I love his energy and he’s so versatile.

718Brooklyn | Suns

3 | 4 hours ago

It’s also ok to just like the dudes you have on your team and let them be the players an entire generation of local basketball fans grow up rooting for. I have such a disproportionate love for guys like Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle because they were ‘our guys,’ when I was growing up.

The-Pharcyde | Raptors

3 | 4 hours ago

The biggest question is the injury concern more than anything

EstablishmentFar2593

3 | 3 hours ago

Was this anonymous exec Darko?

makesterriblejokes | NBA

3 | 3 hours ago

Watch Giannis’s 39.5% 3pt shooting (on low volume) not be a fluke and he just legitimately becomes a 38%+ shooter from 3 on 4-5 attempts per game, offsetting his physical decline and prolonging his top 5 status for an extra 3-5 years lol.

I’ll be honest though, Giannis kind of strikes me as a guy that just might randomly hang things up early to move back to Greece. It’s nothing more than a gut feeling based on how the trade saga has unfolded and how he’s kind of spoken about his career these past couple of years. He just comes off as a guy that is a bit burned out, I almost wonder if the trade request is partially because he hopes a fresh start somewhere else reignites his passion for the game a bit.

Radiant_Cat1457

2 | 3 hours ago

Rather have Scottie

stoolninja | BOS

3 | 3 hours ago

Yes, Giannis will be the better player.

It’s a question of value and what the rest of your roster looks like. Sct Brn could easily have more value for the Raptors than Giannis.

Affectionate-Grab927

3 | 3 hours ago

Availability (and age) over everything. Why would you ever give up Scottie for Giannis, no matter how amazing of a player he is

NatsuAru | Raptors

1 | 6 hours ago

Hearing people here say Scottie Barnes is underrated after two whole years of shitting on this guy is taking me for a loop.

I’m happy as hell but man, it was rough having to hear it in a ton of posts and even moreso a ton of nba podcasts

CohoDolls | Jazz

2 | 5 hours ago

I guess the Raptors are in a very good spot since to me if they trade Barnes for Giannis in a trade where they don’t give up much else I think that’d be a good trade for them, and if they refuse to trade Barnes for Giannis then they’re still good. No losing really unless they somehow give up Barnes and their firsts for multiple years.

It’s also not a bad place to be if they’re a team that’s good enough to win a playoff round or maybe 2 for several years from now on even if they never land a real superstar / become one of the top contenders, kind of like the Derozan teams. Especially since they have a fairly recent ring so the monkey is off their back.

If I was them I’d probably just look to trade for Daniel Gafford or Jarrett Allen though since it would be a cheaper move and give them the center they need.

Winter_Purpose8695 | Philippines

2 | 5 hours ago

Hell Yeah Mr Barnes is untouchable

Unlikely_SinnerMan

2 | 5 hours ago

I wouldn’t

AllOutRaptors | Raptors

2 | 5 hours ago

Why do people always get mad when the Raptors won’t overpay? Like is Houston trading Sengun for Giannis? Is Mobley going for Giannis? Is Paolo getting traded for Giannis? Is Jalen Johnson in rumours??

Like i don’t get it, none of these teams get shit for not wanting to trade their young star except for the Raptors. And thats not to mention the fact that Scottie may well be better than all of those players.

Why would the Raptors include Scottie when no other team is offering anyone even close to as good??

bear2bebull | San Francisco Warriors

2 | 5 hours ago

Yes! I agree, Barnes is more valuable. Raptors don’t even send any offer, just unplug the phone 📞

TheLakesho

2 | 5 hours ago

Is Giannis going to be the better player over those years? I don’t know about that.

Narrator, 4 years from now: Giannis was indeed the better player over those years.

glipglopgucciflipflo

2 | 5 hours ago

Scottie will never be a fraction of the player Giannis is, this is hilariously stupid.

Supreme_God_Bunny | Hornets

2 | 5 hours ago

Also hasn’t Gianni’s gotten 3 calf injuries the last 2 years and has been injured in the playoffs since 2021

Happy-Lifeguard-8080

2 | 4 hours ago

Giannis is also going to come with his two benchwarmer brothers. No one wants that either

bailaoban | Knicks

2 | 4 hours ago

It’s starting to look that Giannis stuck around in MIL a bit too long.

SheriffHarryBawls

2 | 4 hours ago

Barring serious injuries, Barnes has at least 7 more years of great basketball ahead of him. Giannis is one serious injury away from waive-and-stretch

some-guy-someone

2 | 4 hours ago

Does literally anyone think the Raptors would do this? If there was any chance, I would think Scottie would be the only completely untouchable player on the team.

SwizzGod | Lakers

2 | 4 hours ago

Why would you? This isn’t a hot take

hula_balu

2 | 4 hours ago

Scottie and Giannis are basically of the same mold/skillset. This is a lateral trade, going for win now vs wait longer. Keep in mind the they still have IQ as point guard and Poeltl as center. Nothing will change. If Toronto wants merchandise sales sure.

Cringelord_420_69 | Raptors

2 | 4 hours ago

Giannis is a straight upgrade from Scottie. If it’s a one to one trade, theeRaptors would be stupid to not do it

Except the Bucks certainly want a lot more than just Scottie. And the Raps are not close enough to being finals contenders to start trading away picks and depth

HipnotiK1 | Knicks

2 | 4 hours ago

This is how execs outsmart themselves. He makes valid points but the only scenario it’s the right choice is Giannis gets a major injury along with scottie leveling up. Otherwise the gap is too great.

Now if it’s specifically the raptors pondering trading scottie for him, that is difference since it’s not going to be 1 for 1 and you have to question does swapping Scottie + parts/picks with Giannis actually give you a legit chance at a title?

[Grange] Anonymous NBA exec says he wouldn’t trade Scottie Barnes for Giannis: “One guy is 31 and he’s going to want that extension and the other is 24 and you have him for four more years after this one. Is Giannis going to be the better player over those years? I don’t know about that.”