Can the Darkhorse Raptors Get Giannis???

It's a lot more possible than NBA Pundits think!

With the catastrophic Achilles tendon rupture of Dame Lillard and early ending to yet another Bucks Championship dream, it seems Giannis Antetokounmpo wants out. Hard not to accept it for Bucks Fans and Management as the team has few tradable assets and with Dame Lillard at 35 yrs of age when he hopes to return from a serious injury this group has clearly reached the end.

But while NBA writers in different cities all claim they have the inside track on Giannis, the silent Raptors absolutely DO HAVE the inside track. They have Masai, a long time trusted family friend of the Antetokounmpo’s. It’s well known Masai helped Giannis and family escape poverty in Africa and get somewhere he could show off his basketball talent. When Giannis came up for selection in the NBA draft it was Masai doing everything possible to trade up to get the pick to take him. So the mutual respect and admiration goes both ways between these two.

While Giannis spent his first week after exiting the playoffs in New York, likely meeting with his player agent and a few other secret people, it’s hard to imagine Masai can’t pick up the phone and talk directly to Giannis. Because that’s what it will take to get Giannis to Toronto. That personal connection will get you the phone time, but your presentation better be solid and your team better be ready to win Championships. Are the Raptors close enough to Championship level to interest Giannis? Most analysts say no way after their 30 win season, but with the addition of All Star capable Brandon Ingram and quality showing of several rookies last year, locally, there is hope a trade is possible.

However we should back up a bit first and try to figure out if the guy cutting the cheques in Toronto would be interested in going deep into the Luxury tax for several years to add Giannis. Ed Rogers is buying out Bell for their 37.5% of shares this Summer, and he’ll want to buy out Larry Taunenbaum’s 25% of shares next Summer. That’s Billions with a capital ‘B’ he’s planning on spending just to lock this team up as his own. Adding in a new $200 million tax bill on top of Second apron player salary spending for the next 3 years might not be in the budget…even with Ed Rogers printing money with the high prices he charges plebs to use his cell phone network. For the sake of the rest of this article let’s say he’s willing…

Obviously it all rests on the shoulders of Giannis after that, much like everything in his life. If he wants to go to Toronto and tells Bucks management that is what he’d like, then it’s highly possible. While other teams could outbid Toronto with assets, they probably couldn’t offer enough for management to upset Giannis and go against his wishes. That wouldn’t play well in the tight world of the NBA in attracting future stars.

So what might a ‘good enough’ return for Giannis look like from Toronto? The Bucks have traded away as much of their draft capital as they are allowed to, so losing and rebuilding via the draft isn’t a great option. They want some players and picks. The Raptors would sell them on the late picks with little protection and the Bucks hoping Giannis retires and the Raptors are terrible making the picks valuable. So toss in 2031,2029 first round picks. Add in coveted young shooter Gradey Dick and include newly acquired Brandon Ingram. To make the money work Toronto needs to qualify Agbaji at $6 mil and include him as well. That’s the return for Giannis…plus some second round picks to make the Bucks feel better.

This leaves the Raptors with a very well balanced team to compete next year. It also leaves them with some upcoming first round picks to add a bit more to become top contenders like management would certainly love to do. The Raptors hope found money in Jamieson Battle can replace much of Gradey Dick’s production with even better defense. They would still want to add more outside shooting and a back up at Center of course.

The Bucks get a prolific NBA scorer in Brandon Ingram and a hot young shooter in Gradey Dick with hard working and young Agbaji immediately. That’s going to help ease the pain of a long rebuild they have to go through.

So what do you think? While other NBA teams can certainly offer more, if Giannis says he wants to go to Toronto and this package is offered up it seems close enough to get the job done. The question is…does Giannis think he can win Championships with Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Jacob Poeltl and RJ Barrett??? I doubt he does, so Masai would have to be given some trust that he can find another good deal with the few extra first round picks he’s still got to trade to add more.

Someone get Masai on the phone….