Scotto just took Giannis and Myles Turner and Markkanen off the board
[trade market rumors]
The last few days, I have been discussing potential trade scenarios for the Warriors, especially as Jonathan Kuminga has racked up DNPs. Thinking about roster tweaks via trade is a good diversion from losing, obviously.
Although it covered more than just trade stuff, the video below put Giannis Antetokuonmpo as a huge blip on the radar screen, the No. 1 target. It is an edited version of a livestream I did after the Chicago win and before the Minnesota loss:
And then this one, a livestream from Sunday morning that doesn’t have a shorter, edited version yet, considered Myles Turner. Turner has a salary in the range of Kuminga’s, plus there have been rumors about Giannis’ future in Milwaukee and, if there are question marks about Giannis with the Bucks, it follows that Turner could be deemed expendable, too.
Moreover, Quinten Post has been proving that the “Space-5” position is turning into a bit of a dyad (see embedded article below) with the ecosystem that has since evolved to sort of only orbit around one Wardell Stephen Curry — even in his absence as the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago road trip seemed to prove, also notwithstanding non-Steph minutes where the ball goes to Jimmy Butler:
Note: I say “only orbit around Steph” because the ecosystem was originally built for both Curry and Klay Thompson. Obviously, Draymond Green now plays a huge role in that. In any case, “Space-5” is a big deal to Kerr and the modern NBA.
With Post not hitting the shots that mattered in crunch time or “can’t-buy-a-bucket” time during the 17-0 run by the Timberwolves, the idea was this: Why not upgrade that position into a more athletic, as-reliable-shooting, more big-shot-making and more dependable rim protecting player with the proven and playoff-tested Turner?
Along those lines, the Dubs only barely lost to the Wolves, which despite the many wing handoffs and picks Golden State was embarrassed by, made me think that perhaps point-of-attack wasn’t as important as just hitting big shots.
Of course, as I said on the livestream, Turner should only be a target if all efforts to get Giannis fail.
Think “top down”.
We always get seemingly random names tossed at us: Herb Jones is a good example. I’ve advised fans to fry the bigger fish first because his salary is so far down the chart ($14 million). By the way, his contract is also too lengthy, ascending to $15M, $21M, $23M through 2028-29. That doesn’t really fit well with the ongoing strategy of nearly clearing the cap sheet the Summer of 2027.
Why worry about Jones when you can focus your hopes on, well, pretty much the top of the food chain with Giannis? And, after that, Turner?
Incidentally, I’m not sure there’s any team that wants Jimmy and his fat contract right now, even in a multi-team deal, so I’m thinking you’d have to put Dray in the deal for Giannis alongside JK.
There isn’t anyone else making around $50 million that I would include Draymond in, other than Giannis. That’s the main reason why I say the Turner idea is the one that comes after Giannis. This is a drop of about $25 million in salary. No one who is obtainable who is also making between $50 million on down to $25 million jumps off the page, at least no one who we can count on being healthy most of the time.
When you sink further down the NBA salary list, there’s just too many bogeys, too many names being tossed.
The worst one we’ve gotten — not surprisingly by a rando in the Comments rather than a familiar regular — is a package of Day’Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson, for JK and Brandin Podziemski.
No.
In the NBA, winners look to build up big pieces, not break them up into littler ones, if not simply due to prudent asset management. It’s a lot harder to get future trade value for little pieces than bigger pieces. The key word for GMs is “optionality”.
Once you acquire Sharpe, Williams and Wilson, you have effectively rendered a $22.5 million, let’s say, Lexus (that would be Kuminga, of course) into three Honda CRVs — sorry, couldn’t resist the Pat Spencer reference:
You’re basically stuck with three future non-movable “Steady Eddies” (Pat voice), even though they are steady in their own specific, albeit limited way.
The caveat is if one of the lower-salaried players is actually a future gem. But if you are getting fair market value contracts, you should try to avoid breaking up a bigger one into smaller pieces.
Be a big fish guy, please. Talking about middling players who are specialists in one thing — or, as it were, do not strike an ounce of fear in opponents — is a waste of time.
This is, as far as I know, how Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Joe Lacob like to operate. If I end up wrong about this, I promise to do a mea culpa, but I am quite confident of this assessment of this regime. In fact, I would say that most regimes in the NBA feel this way, unless they are rebuilding. With the car analogy, I hope it’s obvious. It’s just prudent asset management.
Plus, we already established in the first video above that in the vein of “Space-5s”, non-shooting centers are of no value to the Kerr-Steph ecosystem. In fact, fire Kerr all you want, but as long as Curry is a Warrior, I don’t see a non-shooting big man coming here. Quite simply, a non-shooting big results in one less dimension in the action with Steph. Defenses can lay off one of Warriors on the court, which takes the Curry gravity down a notch.
Curry himself has touted high IQ teammates only days ago. Usually, seven-foot athletes do not have that IQ, which they really, really need if they can’t shoot (think Kevon Looney-level IQ):
So, please remove the Daniel Gafford (IQ or not, just can’t shoot and, it follows, the Day’Ron Sharpe) types from your wish list. Not happening, so long as Steph is a Warrior and the NBA’s elite teams have a 5 who can shoot, if not already an All-Star-caliber center — which are too expensive for Golden State’s cap sheet anyways.
Like, if this were 2021 or earlier, sure, Gafford might have more value, but Steph said, “I play fast” — see the “organized chaos” article embedded above. Gafford also has an ascending salary that ends in 2029.
Aside from the usual contractual concerns, a seven-foot athlete who cannot shoot and who is a question mark when it comes to processing Steph running around him, please just expunge from your list.
Finally, I have to say: The loss in Portland last night bumped point-of-attack defense back up to the top of the major concerns.
Now, and because of what Michael Scotto of HoopsHype is about to tell you, I have Trey Murphy III back at the top as a target, therefore leap-frogging Giannis, Myles, and even Lauri Markkanen (again, because of what Scotto’s sources told him).
So, back to the lede I buried: The great Scotto jumped on YES Network — full video and transcript and captions below, behind the paywall — for a whole ten minutes and effectively crossed off Giannis (and therefore Myles) and Lauri from the list.
Danggggg!
One more thing: With Giannis still potentially available next summer with (not) signing the extension as a barometer, the Warriors probably need to keep all their future Draft picks.
Eric Guilleminault of NBADraft.net also tells me the 2026 Draft is epic, so probably keep this one in particular, especially with the fact that, right now, we are on track for a Play-in spot. You need to keep those Draft picks in case Giannis frees up.
That might make it hard to get a desirable guy like Murphy, although in the first video above, I wondered if the Dubs might be able to convince the Pelicans that JK as the face of their franchise is a better option than Murphy — Murphy becoming the face of the Pels was reported by Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
At least the choices have now been narrowed.
By the way, there are a few extra bonus trade rumors across the league in those ten minutes with Scotto, below.
Last thing: I have already posted the whole Scotto report on our Discord Server, but for the VIPs only.
Discord is not an intuitive platform, so I get it that people are hesitant, but that is where we have the best stuff and it’s all happening at near-real-time. News on our Discord server breaks in parallel with Twitter/X.
You can get a taste of our Discord with our free version, although the news does not break as fast on the free version.
So, get your feet wet with the free version (link below). It will take some time to get comfortable, but after a while you’ll start to understand what you’re missing from the VIP version, which is only $5/month as of this writing.
I haven’t done a good job of marketing it, but as soon as our LetsGoWarriors VIP Discord takes off, I am going to increase the price. So, yeah, the $5/mo is a limited-time offer.
Discord details (free version): https://whop.com/letsgowarriors-discord-free
VIP details: https://whop.com/letsgowarriors-discord-vip
FULL VIDEO + TRANSCRIPT BELOW 👇 (previous article paywall now removed)
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00:00 CHRIS SHEARN: First, we continue to get you ready for the Nets and Bucks here on this Sunday night, and I’m joined here. I’m on set and I’m so happy you’re here. The Senior NBA Insider for Hoops Hype. This is Michael Scotto. We talk all the time off the air. Now we get to talk on the air. I’m so excited about this. Michael, thank you for joining us and since the Bucks are in the building here tonight, there’s a lot of rumors going around about Giannis.
00:22 MICHAEL SCOTTO: Oh, yeah.
00:23 So what’s the latest about the Buck Superstar?
00:26 Sure thing, Chris. Happy to join you as well. From Milwaukee right now and talking with their front office people, they still want to build around Giannis. I know there’s been a lot of noise and a lot of smoke about conversations they’ve had. They talk frequently all the time. Giannis is a guy that loves Milwaukee. He has always wanted every reason to continue to stay there. Milwaukee made the big splash to go get Myles Turner. They stretched Damian Lillard’s contract. They’re still active on the trade market now, looking to see if they can find another piece to help build this Bucks team with Giannis. They’ve gotten good play out of AJ Green. Ryan Rollins has been their most improved player of the year. At this moment, they’re still looking to build around Giannis, going forward.
01:11 And Kevin Porter Jr. came back. He’s been playing well since he came back, so where there was smoke, maybe not some fire in this instance.
01:20 Well, and Chris, and also talking to rival executives that have interest in trading for Giannis, they’ve told me they don’t think Milwaukee wants to move him right now. They’re obviously having those direct conversations with Bucks GM John Horst and they’re not getting the sense that he’s looking to pull the trigger right now. And big picture, Chris, if Giannis remains past the trade deadline, Milwaukee has an opportunity in the off-season where they can offer him a huge contract extension and, at that point, if he remains on the roster, that’s gonna be the needle-moving point because, once and for all, you’re gonna know if he extends. He’s happy and he wants to stay and if he doesn’t, then the future’s up in the air and Milwaukee has to make a decision, and other teams are gonna know by the time that extension deadline comes where Gianni Antetokuonmpo ultimately stands. None of this through the media, none of this through the agent, where do you stand?
02:19 So he has this leverage once he hits the summer and, let’s be honest, he’s the superstar. The ball is always going to be in Giannis Antetokuonmpo’s court here, Michael.
02:29 A hundred percent.
02:30 Let’s move on now to Anthony Davis. Now he wants an extension?
02:34 Yes.
02:35 Or a trade? What do you think is gonna shake out with Anthony Davis?
02:38 Well, Chris, first of all, you hit it on the head, for Anthony Davis right now, obviously a big part of the blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy at this point for Dallas, but he’s come back now and they’ve started to play better for Dallas right now. From talking to people there, they’re in an evaluation period. They want to see how Anthony Davis plays with their prized rookie, Cooper Flagg, and eventually, in an ideal world, if Kyrie Irving could come back, don’t know if that’s gonna happen yet, but ultimately they think that team is better than their record now. They’ve had a ton of injuries. Derek Lively’s now out for a substantial amount of time as well, and for Anthony Davis, to build up his value whether it’s for a contract extension or a trade, he needs to play. He needs to continue to show that he’s that guy when he is healthy, that’s been a perennial All-Star.
03:30 Yeah, and the injuries have really hurt Dallas this season, you alluded to it. I’ll bring it back around. Derek Lively out for the season. As you mentioned, Kyrie Irving is a question mark.
03:40 Right.
03:40 But it begs to question here, Michael, if he did come back, it would be so interesting to see Kyrie, AD and Cooper Flagg get a run before the season ends. Do you think we’re gonna see that or no?
03:56 I’ve always been cautioned that they want to take it easy with Kyrie. They want him, obviously, there long term. I know originally, some people wondered around the league, what would they look to move him? I’ve never gotten that sense. A former Nets executive, Matt Riccardi, by the way, is now the acting GM, co-GM with Michael Finley in Dallas. He’s got a close relationship with Kyrie. He values him as a player. I’ve never gotten the sense that they want to move off of Kyrie. They value him there and he’s been a good fit in Dallas, so to your point, it would be an intriguing fit for that trio. Cooper Flagg to this point has primarily been their top ball handler as a point guard. Jason Kidd did that previously with Giannis Antetokuonmpo when he was the Bucks coach. He’s looking to do the same thing now, to expand Cooper’s game, but ultimately when Kyrie Irving comes back, whether it’s this year or whether it’s next year, the ultimate plan is that he would be the primary ball handler. You have Cooper Flagg on the wing and if AD’s gonna be there, that’s your big down low. Ideally, that’s how most teams want to build. You wanna have a star guard, a good, a really good player on the wing and a big man that can make a difference. Dallas has that. What they have not had is health, as you alluded to, Chris.
05:04 Yeah. Now, December 14th, today, tomorrow, Michael. It’s the first big day in the NBA calendar.
05:11 Yes, it is.
05:12 A lot of free agents are eligible to be traded, a lot of the 2025 free agents who signed this off-season. So let’s start with the point guards. Where are you seeing maybe some of the point guards go?
05:24 Sure. Right now when December 15 rolls around, you’re looking at 90% of the league is now gonna be available to be traded, so it’s a large number. Regarding the point guard market, there’s four point guards that executives around the league are looking at as potential trade candidates. I don’t know if it applies to the December 15th rule, but more so in general to your question about the point guards. First of all, you’ve got Ja Morant with the Memphis Grizzlies, right? He’s drawn interest from the Minnesota Timberwolves who need a true point guard if they’re gonna make a run. The Sacramento Kings looked at it. They’re also in a weird transition with their three older veterans and what they’re gonna do there. You’ve got Trae Young in Atlanta. They didn’t get an extension done in the off-season. He’s been hurt this year and talking with Hawks officials, they’re hoping that he can come back at some point later this month. He needs to assimilate himself with this group and see what they have. Kristaps Porzingis has also been out as well. He’s gonna be out at least another two weeks now, today that came out. So they’re trying to figure out what to do there and if he’s ultimately a good fit pairing with Jalen Johnson, their rising forward who I think could be an All-Star this year, potentially, if they continue to win. They’ve also had a better defensive rating without Trae, something to consider for the summer when he has a player option and now executives are thinking he may have to pick that up.
06:43 And what about LaMelo Ball?
06:45 You bring up LaMelo Ball, was third on my list. LaMelo Ball, his whole career has had some trouble with ankle injuries and for Charlotte Kon Knueppel has essentially become the face of the franchise of that team and he’s a Rookie of the Year candidate. Now for Charlotte, you’ve got a guy that’s on a pretty much a max contract in LaMelo, hasn’t been able to stay healthy, to my understanding. They still want to see what it looks like with LaMelo, Brandon Miller, who’s also been hurt, Kon Knueppel and the rest of that team with Miles Bridges, as well. They think if they’re healthy, they could be a Play-in team, but again, big if. Last but not least, I want to throw another name at you, Chris. Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, coming off a great regular season last year. The Cleveland Cavaliers to this point have underwhelmed this year. They’ve also dealt with injuries as well. Evan Mobley’s out now, but with that said, the back court of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell has always been under a microscope around the league because before Donovan Mitchell got there, Darius Garland was an All-Star and before he had his toe injuries, some teams believe that if he was their main guy, he could be a difference-maker. So I think there’s gonna be a lot of interest in him before this trade deadline and, if he doesn’t get moved, especially over the summer, and I wouldn’t put it past the Brooklyn Nets right here to take a look as well, personally.
08:03 Interesting. Okay.
08:03 It’s just, that’s just my assessment, Chris, but file that one under your cap for down the road.
08:07 Down the road, I definitely will. Now let’s take a look at the forwards and Lauri Markkanen pops off the page first.
08:13 Absolutely. You hit it on the head. He had a great summer with Finland, he has transitioned that this season, averaging almost like 30 points a game. What’s interesting about Lauri is, when you talk to executives around the league, a lot of teams have been linked to him in the past, whether it’s the San Antonio Spurs to get a four next to Victor Wembanyama, the Memphis Grizzlies after they made the blockbuster Desmond Bane trade because they have a lot of draft picks and the Detroit Pistons because JB Bickerstaff was his former coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers remains very high on him. However, with that said, to my understanding, Utah wants to build around Lauri Markkanen and what they want to do, ideally, they have a ton of cap space this summer. Use it to make the roster better. If they’re gonna be in the lottery this year, they hope that’s the last time for the foreseeable future where they can start to build this thing and make it a run. You re-sign Walker Kessler, but you wait to do that last after you use your cap space. Big picture, that’s what Utah’s thinking. Lauri draws a ton of interest around the league, but right now Utah wants to hold onto him and really try to make a run for the future to improve this team and start to win.
09:22 All right, Michael, thank you so much for everything you just gave us. Finally, we’re not talking off the air, we’re talking on the air. Michael Scotto, thank you so much for joining us, the senior NBA Insider for Hoops Hype. We’re gonna step aside, take another break. We come back here to Barclays Center. Opening tip is not too far away.
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