With rumors that Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are set to have a meeting to talk about his future with the franchise swirling, everyone is pitching trades to bring him elsewhere. Some of those pitches are flat-out unbelievable, as expected, but perhaps the craziest yet might belong to The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo, who proposed an insane deal with Cleveland.
Simmons: [Evan] Mobley for Giannis straight up. What do you think? He's six and a half years younger. Call it in right now.
Russillo: Done.
The pair went on to wonder if Cleveland would consider accepting such a proposal. The Cavaliers are not the franchise that would reject this particular offer.
The Bucks aren't trading Giannis (if they do) straight up
To be clear, Mobley is a great player. The 23-year-old had a great season, taking massive strides on both sides of the court, but especially defensively as he took home the Defensive Player of the Year honor. He would undeniably be a coveted trade asset in any potential Giannis talks, but he's not the focal point. He's the starting point. A deal can be centered around him. Not be just him.
There would be no reason for the Milwaukee Bucks to swap Giannis for Mobley with the other offers they could get across the NBA. Teams like the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs are anxiously awaiting the results of this upcoming meeting to see if their dreams have a chance to become reality this coming summer.
Both teams can offer compelling centerpieces, such as All-Star Alperen Sengun or Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, as starting points in a Giannis trade. Although either of those names could headline the package, they wouldn't be the entire package. The Milwaukee Bucks will certainly clear out what draft capital they can pry from those teams, as well as other high-end role players.
Simply put, the Milwaukee Bucks won't do anyone any favors. They will gut opposing teams' treasure chest of assets and not think twice about it. For a player of Giannis Antetokounmpo's caliber, this may create the biggest bidding war in NBA history. No player across the NBA is worth Giannis straight up. It doesn't matter if they are "six-and-a-half years younger" or not.
Cleveland could certainly be a dark horse landing spot for Giannis if they wanted him, but it's going to take a lot more than just Mobley.
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