New Blockbuster Three Team Trade Idea Sends Giannis to Philadelphia, Embiid + Paul George to Bucks, Hawks Get Depth

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three.

There is not going to be a bigger offseason storyline than the potential trade of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. While he has not asked to be traded from Milwaukee yet, there continue to be rumors about the potential move. The Bucks roster is depleted and they have no young players or draft picks to trade to upgrade their team. If Giannis wants to win another NBA championship, it likely would not be in Milwaukee and as hard as it is to admit, the Bucks might be better in the long run by trading Giannis.

Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this starting five. The Hawks need interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. This is not a great free agent class to be filling those needs, so could the Hawks look to the trade market? NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

There was not a more disappointing team in the NBA than Philadelphia. After making the move to acquire Paul George to form a big three with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, things went downhill quickly. Embiid and George could not stay healthy, promising rookie Jared McCain was lost for the year, and the team ended up with the third pick in the draft. Even before he went down for the year with an injury, Paul George's play fell off considerably from where he was at with the Clippers and he has three more years left on his deal. Embiid is also worrisome. He has four years left on his deal after being extended last offseason and it gets more expensive with each season. Given his injury history, that is one of the worst contracts in the league and puts the 76ers in a tough position. Could they look for a way out, as unlikely as it seems?

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Hawks Receive: Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton

Bucks Receive: Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr, 2025 1st round pick (No. 3 overall via PHI), 2027 2nd round pick (via PHI), unprotected 2028 1st round pick (from PHI, via LAC), 2028 2nd round pick (from PHI, via GSW), and a 2029 1st round pick swap (from PHI, via LAC)

76ers Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, Terance Mann, and Georges Niang

Why the Hawks do this trade: They swap veterans for bench help. Portis is an improvement over Niang and while Connaughton has fallen off over the past couple of seasons, he is an expiring deal and the Hawks get some flexibility by moving off of the Mann deal. This gives the Hawks a solid bench player in Portis, they can re-sign Caris LeVert, keep Kobe Bufkin, and have two more draft picks to add to their team.

Why the Hawks don't do this deal: How improved are they after that? Mann's contract is not great, but he is better than Connaughton. This feels like a marginal move if anything if you are Atlanta.

Why the Bucks do this deal: It is a big, big, big gamble, but if they can get Embiid to play 55-60 games again for the next couple of seasons and George to get back to form, this could work in the short term and keep Milwaukee in playoff contention. They get a big-time talent with the No. 3 pick and future picks that should pay off. This feels like the best of both worlds for the Bucks in a potential Giannis trade. They can build around the No. 3 pick and hope that Damian Lillard, Paul George and Embiid can stay healthy to help this team win. They also get off the Kuzma deal

Why the Bucks don't do this deal: Have I mentioned that Embiid and George have injury history and bad contracts? Between that and Lillard's injury, there is a world in which this is just a different version of this past year's 76ers team, which would not be good. There is a decent chance that Embiid and George could never be the same players and the Bucks don't get anything but the No. 3 pick and future picks from this deal. Surely another team could top that offer right?

Why the 76ers do this deal: They get Giannis, get off of Embiid and George's contracts long-term, and become one of the contenders in the Eastern Conference with Giannis, Maxey, and McCain. They still have some other picks they could use to make more deals to surround them with talent. It might seem like a lot with the picks plus the players, but given the injury history with Embiid, this is likely what it would take to get Milwaukee to do the deal.

Why the 76ers don't do this deal: They think this is too expensive of a deal, even for a player like Giannis. Is this team a contender after this deal? Playoff team yes, title contender, they seem a bit thin for that. It is a big risk to trade the No. 3 pick, even if you think the dropoff from the top two players to the next crop of players is steep.

This deal is very unlikely, but it seems like every team should make an offer for Giannis and this could be the 76ers chance to land Giannis while getting off of bad contracts. The Hawks work as a facilitator to the deal by adding in players and taking on money.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

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