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This week is shaping up to be the Warriors’ best chance to swing a trade for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It might just be their last too.
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According to reports, the Warriors are one of four teams considered serious suitors for Antetokounmpo, who’s ready for a new home. (opens in new tab) The others are the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Heat.
The Bucks have been listening to offers and looking for a proposal that would yield promising young players, a boatload of valuable draft picks, or both.
The Knicks don’t have much of either, though Antetokounmpo’s penchant for the Big Apple led to negotiations between the clubs last summer. The Heat have a bit of both (Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, Jaime Jaquez; two first-rounders to trade). Minnesota has only one future pick swap to offer, but Tim Connelly is one of the league’s most creative executives.
Golden State can offer up to four first-round picks, including juicy ones pushed deep into a future likely without Steph Curry. They have Brandin Podziemski, a young player with broad appeal, and Jonathan Kuminga, who has high upside but remains polarizing.
Unless mystery teams emerge, the Warriors’ offer might just be the best out there. That probably won’t be the case forever.
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If the Bucks decide to hold onto Antetokounmpo for now and reassess their options in the summer, the Warriors will have lost whatever edge they may have. Their offer will be more or less the same — and, presumably, not enticing enough for Milwaukee — while competing packages will improve. Miami and other teams will unlock more draft capital to trade. Others will have more flexibility to facilitate multi-team deals in the summer than they do during the season. And some asset-rich teams that aren’t interested in pushing in their chips for Antetokounmpo now could change course after an early playoff exit.
None of those conditions bode well for the Warriors. So if Milwaukee ignores Antetokounmpo’s passive trade request for now, Golden State will have to pivot.
Antetokounmpo is as bold a Plan A as there is. Alternatives, naturally, won’t be as appealing.
If the Bucks extend the Antetokounmpo drama, the Warriors could hold onto their assets and try again in the summer. The upside of that path could involve some ping-pong-ball luck in 2026, though that would require missing the playoffs.
Perhaps that path could also involve extracting some value for veterans on the Warriors’ roster. De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford each have player options for next season and would give contending teams a boost.
But Horford, and especially Melton, are two of Golden State’s most important players. Flipping them for assets would be an admission that the Warriors are playing for next year, which could be a hard sell to Curry, who is having an elite season at 37. But the Warriors are essentially already doing that, as their commitment to Jimmy Butler involves waiting for him to return from ACL surgery halfway through next season.
The calculus changes if Milwaukee strikes a deal with another suitor. Antetokounmpo would be off the board, leaving the Warriors empty-handed.
In that case, Kuminga would again become a person of interest. His standing trade request is probably less relevant now that Sacramento has traded for De’Andre Hunter. Prior to that, the Kings were believed to register the strongest interest in Kuminga. Also, Butler’s season-ending injury provides Kuminga a runway to perform in the second half of the season, potentially driving up his value for the summer.
“With Jimmy’s injury, it changes everything for us and for JK,” Steve Kerr said on his weekly radio hit. (opens in new tab) “We’ll see what happens with the deadline, but if nothing happens, JK’s right back in the rotation. … The door is wide open for him now. I hope we get him back.”
Maybe Kuminga could be involved in a smaller yet high-impact trade before Thursday. It’s tough to know exactly who could be available via trade without tirelessly working the phones like the front office does, but if the Warriors were prepared to offer the farm for Antetokounmpo, they should be willing to transfer some of their assets to a different table.
The Nets don’t control their pick next year, so it would make sense for them to keep All-Star snub Michael Porter Jr. The Pelicans are believed to want to keep their core intact, including Trey Murphy III, despite having 13 wins.
Those players are relevant because they’re in their prime and on manageable contracts. (Murphy is on a team-friendly deal; Porter’s upcoming extension likely won’t break the bank because of his injury history.) A young, productive player on a fair contract would accomplish the Warriors’ goals of helping Curry play some semblance of meaningful basketball this season while fortifying the team for next year, when Butler returns.
This avenue requires outside-the-box thinking. If the Clippers trade James Harden, are they open for business on Kawhi Leonard or Ivica Zubac? Might the Warriors believe in Ayo Dosunmu or Reed Sheppard more than their coaches do?
The Warriors should package a pick or two if they think they’ve identified the next Deni Avdija or Derrick White — players who changed teams for marginal returns before blossoming into stars.
Those trades are easier said than done, but a good front office will make those moves.
What isn’t an option is making a trade just to make a trade. That’s not how the Warriors roll. The team also isn’t interested in taking on bad long-term money; its books are clean after 2027.
What the Warriors are interested in is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Things would be a whole lot easier if they don’t have to shift to backup plans.