The Golden State Warriors‘ season looked like it was over as Jimmy Butler limped off the court during the second half of a game against the Miami Heat on January 19, but just over a week later the franchise has resurgent hope.
That hope comes in the form of a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania that Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo now firmly wants out of that organization.
“Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home at the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline or in the offseason as several rival teams make aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for him, and the franchise is starting to listen, league sources tell ESPN,” Charania reported via X on Wednesday.
Golden State has long desired to pair Stephen Curry with Antetokounmpo, and the interest has been mutual. However, it is going to cost the Warriors essentially everything they’ve got considering Antetokounmpo’s status as among the NBA’s 3-5 best players and the interest in his services across the league.
The Warriors can offer four first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032, the latest of which should be quite valuable considering Curry turns 38 this season and Draymond Green turns 36 years old in March. Golden State can also part with first-round swaps in each of the next seven campaigns, which means the team could add swaps in 2027, 2029 and 2031 to the deal.
No trade could get done absent Butler’s $54.1 million salary. The Warriors could also finally move on from Jonathan Kuminga in the deal and may need to offer Brandin Podziemski and his $3.7 million rookie salary to sweeten the initial pot for the Bucks.
To make the money work in this trade proposal, Milwaukee would have to send back Kyle Kuzma’s expiring $22.5 million salary and perhaps one if its sub-$3 million contracts, such as the one belonging to point guard Cole Anthony.
Antetokounmpo is currently out for a potentially 4-6 week stretch following a calf strain. Meanwhile, Butler won’t return until sometime next season, at the earliest.
However, Milwaukee can still benefit from being bad this year even though it doesn’t have full control over its first-round pick in 2026. That means the Bucks will want to bottom out as fully as possible if they decide to deal the best player in franchise history since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Thus, taking on an injured Butler is something the team may be open to given its circumstances should an Antetokounmpo trade prove inevitable.
Newsweek