Trae Young Blasts ESPN NBA Analyst for ‘Giannis to Mavericks’ Trade Idea

Trae Young has had it up to his neck with Jay Williams' draft takes after his Giannis Antetokounmpo trade proposal.

Trae Young Blasts ESPN NBA Analyst for ‘Giannis to Mavericks’ Trade Idea

Trae Young (Image via Instagram)

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be considering a trade request. The vague report has already gotten tongues wagging on every sports outlet with mock proposals sending the Greek Freak out. Jay Williams, for one, believes that the Dallas Mavericks should pursue him. His trade proposal left Atlanta Hawks franchise star Trae Young nonplussed.

It was abundantly clear during the playoffs that Giannis Antetokounmpo does not have the kind of support that championship rosters provide. His co-star, Damian Lillard, will be out for the 2025-26 season after undergoing an Achilles heel surgery for a tear. The rest of the Bucks’ roster is not at the level that playoff rotations need to be. Not having enough help at age 30 would punt a year of prime Giannis play.

The motivation for the trade is clear enough. However, where the Greek Freak ends up is a matter that’s up in the air. It isn’t even clear if he has made a trade request, or is considering one, despite Charania’s reports. Jay Williams had one idea of his own, which he floated on the ESPN show Get Up this morning. According to Williams, the Dallas Mavericks should package their No. 1 overall pick in an attempt to land him.

For a guy like Cooper Flagg, I think he needs reps. I think he needs a lot of room to grow. I’m not sure if championship aspirations right away for him (will be good). The basketball part of me loves the thought of AD, Cooper Flagg, Dereck Lively in the frontcourt. But when I look at the value – could you potentially package something like this to get a Giannis? Could you package it to get a Devin Booker? Could you package it to get a Tyrese Maxey?

Jay Williams floated some trade ideas for the Dallas Mavericks with the no. 1 overall pick

All of NBA Twitter was in consternation with Williams’ trade package ideas for a few reasons. One of these reasons was Williams naming three All-Stars at different tiers of stardom. His presumptuousness about the Mavericks trading away an NBA-ready player like Cooper Flagg also stuck out to some. Trae Young, who was involved in a draft-day trade himself, was utterly unconvinced by Jay Williams’ logic.

The Hawks superstar took to his Twitter/X account and tweeted while roasting Williams.

The yearly Jay Will terrible draft take. Never gets old.

Trae Young tweeted

Trae Young and Giannis Antetokounmpo are both in relatable spots

Both Trae Young and Giannis Antetokounmpo are currently in situations that would best be described as ‘NBA purgatory’. While the Greek Freak has won a championship already, Young only has one playoff run under his belt through seven seasons. Despite his patience with the Hawks’ front office, Young hasn’t had a contender-level roster built around him. This is especially true of the past four years.

There have been rumors flying around of the Spurs trading the Hawks back their picks in exchange for Young. However, with De’Aaron Fox already in San Antonio, the team’s chances of landing another point guard alongside him and Chris Paul are exceedingly thin.

Young and Antetokounmpo are two players who fit like a glove together on paper. The Atlanta Hawks should try and get in on the action to land the Greek Freak if he’s on the market. Unless the Bucks are able to trade Damian Lillard and other pieces away to land Young – a wafer-thin possibility, but one the Hawks should entertain if they enter the tank race.

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