Amid the flurry of trade rumors around Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bill Simmons posed a potential Antetokounmpo-for-Trae Young trade. But Rich Paul, one of the NBA's most powerful agents, isn't buying it.
Paul, whose agency Klutch previously represented Young, discussed Simmons' trade idea on his new podcast, saying that a deal with Antetokounmpo and Kyle Kuzma being shipped to Atlanta in exchange for Young, Kristaps Porzingis, and four first-round draft picks has “no chance” of happening.
“You can’t [do that]. That’s not right,” Paul said. “With Giannis, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a star because you’re not getting a star back per se. Maybe you could. … Let me say, you’re not getting a star back to the level of Giannis. You’re not getting Luka, you’re not getting Jokic, you’re not getting Shai. You can get an All-Star back.”
When asked by his ‘Game Over' co-host Max Kellerman who he would pursue if he were trading Antetokounmpo, he specifically named his own client, the Hawks' Jalen Johnson.
“If I’m the Bucks, I’m looking at [a] young player — high character, high talent, high IQ, assets, and maybe some ancillary guys,” Paul said.
Johnson, 23, would be just about the best outcome for Milwaukee if it could not net an MVP candidate in return for Antetokounmpo. A Wisconsin native, Johnson was born in Wausau, a city nearly 200 miles northwest of Milwaukee, and finished high school at Nicolet High School in Milwaukee County.
Johnson got the chance to show very little in his first two NBA seasons, only playing 22 games in his first season and starting just six in his second before exploding two seasons ago. In his third year in the league, he averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and shot a career-high 35.5% on 3-pointers. Last season, he continued to be impressive; he averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.6 steals. And this year, he has only gotten better, posting averages of 23.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 53.4% from the field and 40.4% on 3-pointers.
Still, the trade would be a massive blow to the Bucks, who have benefited from the greatness of Antetokounmpo for more than a decade. Before he went down with a calf injury, Antetokounmpo was averaging 30.6 points on a 63.9% field-goal percentage and 43.5% 3-point percentage.
If traded, any deal involving Antetokounmpo would take some cap maneuvering, considering he is making $54.1 million this year — in comparison, Johnson is making $30 million — and is set to make $58.5 and $62.8 million over the next two years, respectively.
