The appetite of NBA front offices to send out a large collection of future first round picks in a trade for star players has decreased dramatically following the introduction of the current collective bargaining agreement due to the restrictive nature of the apron system.
While Anthony Davis, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mikal Bridges were traded for significant future draft capital between 2019 and 2024, the subsequent Durant trade from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in 2025 is more illustrative of the current climate in which he returned just one first round pick.
The reluctance of teams to trade multiple first round picks into the future is expected to impact the trade packages for Davis and potentially even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"What I'm telling you is that when I talk to executives and these executives are not in trade talks with the Bucks or another for a star player right now, the mood in the NBA right now is not give up four first round picks for anybody," said Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective podcast on Friday.
"Okay, maybe if Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) came on, or Victor (Wembanyama)... Like people don't want to do that because the aprons have spooked so many teams. All these teams are worried about getting into apron trouble where they can't reset their rosters. And you get into a situation like the Celtics were in where you got to rip your team down."
The age, injury history and contract obligations of Davis and Antetokounmpo factor into the calculus of what teams are willing to give up, especially out into the future.
"This is how teams are thinking right now," added Windhorst. "They're a little freaked about the aprons. There ain't going to be no five first round pick trades. I know that we saw those for a while. That's just not to happen."
While Anthony Davis, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mikal Bridges were traded for significant future draft capital between 2019 and 2024, the subsequent Durant trade from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in 2025 is more illustrative of the current climate in which he returned just one first round pick.
The reluctance of teams to trade multiple first round picks into the future is expected to impact the trade packages for Davis and potentially even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"What I'm telling you is that when I talk to executives and these executives are not in trade talks with the Bucks or another for a star player right now, the mood in the NBA right now is not give up four first round picks for anybody," said Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective podcast on Friday.
"Okay, maybe if Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) came on, or Victor (Wembanyama)... Like people don't want to do that because the aprons have spooked so many teams. All these teams are worried about getting into apron trouble where they can't reset their rosters. And you get into a situation like the Celtics were in where you got to rip your team down."
The age, injury history and contract obligations of Davis and Antetokounmpo factor into the calculus of what teams are willing to give up, especially out into the future.
"This is how teams are thinking right now," added Windhorst. "They're a little freaked about the aprons. There ain't going to be no five first round pick trades. I know that we saw those for a while. That's just not to happen."
. They just glad fans letting them skate with the "bu...bu...but the 2 apron" BS while prices are steady rising.
