Trae Young makes perfect sense for Bucks to pair with Giannis

What happens when you pair the best pick-and-roll ball handler alley-oop lob passer and rim-rolling alley-oop lob threat in the game?

Trae Young tossing Giannis Antetokounmpo lobs would take cream city to lob city overnight.

Rumors of Atlanta making Young available makes him a prime trade target for Milwaukee to quickly acquire another star who would instantly make the game easier for Antetokounmpo going forward.

All signs point to Atlanta moving on from Trae Young ahead of the Feb 5th trade deadline, with the team “indicating that they're looking for the exit ramp” for the Hawks point guard, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon. pic.twitter.com/Smo44lI7dV
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 29, 2025

Trae - Giannis alley-oops would be a fever dream out of NBA Jam

Giannis looks up to Trae shooting — Oct 29, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) puts up a shot between Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Trae Young is a one man offensive engine in his own right, able to run a high volume of pick-and-rolls and handoffs as many times a game as the team needs, creating a good look every time down while doing it.

He's never been opposed to sharing the spotlight and touches with other stars, as he's said before.

Young's pull-up three, his floater game, and his feel with the ball in his hands when running an offense is as clean cut of an ideal fit flamethrowing partner that Giannis Antetokounmpo could ask for to go to war with in the playoffs and become one of the best offenses in the league overnight.

If Milwaukee can keep enough floor-spacing closeout-attackers and two-way play-finishers after the trade and build a deep enough rotation by playoff time, these two stars could create an offense as reliable as instant coffee that can compete in a game, a series, against any team, any night.

I know what you’re thinking.

The 'perfect pick-and-roll pairing' of Damian Lillard and Giannis didn’t exactly work out as everyone hoped; the injuries, the playoff shortcomings.

Sometimes, it’s just a bad fit, even if it sounded good on paper.

Dame reportedly wanted to be in Miami originally, so Milwaukee might not have been his first choice no matter how great Giannis is all-time; still, by the end of his time here, even that duo had developed an effective pick-and-roll partnership. Not getting a fair shake when it comes to staying healthy at the right time of year doesn't help, either.

Combining the polar opposite floor-bending offensive gravity superpowers of Giannis and Trae can be a fresh start at a similarly clean fit on paper with two proven stars who stay hungry to keep proving themselves again and again as they climb the ranks of All-Time greats in NBA history; these two continue to etch their names in the statistical record books practically every time they take the court.

Young averages 0.97 PPP in pick and roll as the ball-handler over 7 times per game and 1.15 PPP in 2 handoffs per game this season.

Giannis averages 1.98 PPP (!) in pick-and-roll as the roll-man just under 2 timers per game.

Unlocking The Greek Freak's rim-rolling as often as possible unlocks an unstoppable play for Milwaukee.

Already a high-volume deep-range 3pt sniper with an elite drop-defense killing counter floater in pick-and-roll who has one of the best passing touches of any player or point guard in the NBA, Trae Young makes any rim-roller with good hands, verticality, and timing an instant lob threat.

The roll-man boost from Ice Trae isn’t too dissimilar from that of the point god of Lob City himself, Chris Paul, even if it's to a lesser extent.

In terms of a trade package, the Bucks could send as many picks as Atlanta demands to make the deal happen, and probably have enough to make an enticing offer, with two future firsts, one second, and four first-round pick swaps. The salaries of Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis, Cole Anthony work in a trade straight up for Trae Young, and Atlanta could probably ask for any non-Giannis player they want.

If Milwaukee wants to make a big splash acquisition to make the game easier for Giannis the rest of his career while bringing in a one-man offensive engine to help carry the load, they could do worse than Ice Trae, a flamethrowing deep-range sniper natural point guard efficient-shot-creating machine.

Welcome to the city of lobs, cream city.