Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is the man tasked with potentially trading for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As it turns out, these guys go way back.
The Athletic's Nick Friedell relayed an amazing flashback story about the pair dating back to Dunleavy's late playing days.
This is how Friedell told it:
Back in 2015, Dunleavy, then a swingman for the Chicago Bulls, lined up for a 3-pointer late in the second quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks. As he rose to take a shot from the left side of the floor, a 20-year-old 7-footer from the Bucks came charging at him well after the ball had left Dunleavy’s hands.
The force of the contact, in which the Bucks’ big man took a running head start from the center of the floor and trucked into Dunleavy’s midsection with his right forearm, sent the veteran sharpshooter into the Bradley Center’s courtside seats right next to Bucks co–owner Wes Edens and his daughter, Mallory.
The young Bucks big man, a second-year player from Greece, was upset Dunleavy had taken a shot at his teammate Michael Carter-Williams’ face earlier in the game. He had also been pushed to the ground by Dunleavy seconds before, and his actions earned him a flagrant 2 foul and an ejection from the game. His name?
Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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Here's a clip of the incident:
“I got no issues with the guy,” Dunleavy said in May 2015, via Friedell. “Nice kid, young kid, going to be a really good player. Doesn’t change my feeling on wanting to get over to Mykonos.”
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It would be quite the full-circle moment, for sure.
It appears the Bucks would be willing to trade Giannis before the Feb. 5 deadline, or maybe in the summer.
Golden State's best chance to maximize the aging Steph Curry would be to get Antetokounmpo immediately, so as not to miss out on this playoff run.
If a trade does happen, it'll certainly create some entertaining conversations between Dunleavy and Antetokounmpo.
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