The Golden State Warriors may very much be in the Giannis Antetokounmpo business this summer.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Greek Freak has “been known to be a dream target of the Warriors for a long time,” and this offseason could be their only realistic window to land him.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday that Antetokounmpo is “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere,” while Amick added that Giannis has been in “fact-finding mode, discussing his situation with trusted confidantes while making it clear that he’s reading the room here. This is not a one-foot-out-the-door situation. Not yet, anyway.”
It isn’t a surprise that Antetokounmpo is considering his options. The Bucks have now been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in three straight seasons, Damian Lillard could potentially miss the entire 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles this postseason and the Bucks simply don’t have many assets left to make a major splash in the trade market (or cap space to improve in free agency).
Now, whether the Dubs could match the sort of offer that other teams could make in trades is questionable. Unless Giannis made it clear that he only wanted to go to Golden State, the Warriors couldn’t beat the sort of offers that the Dallas Mavericks (a package revolving around the top overall pick, aka Cooper Flagg), San Antonio Spurs (second overall pick, draft assets) or Houston Rockets (enticing young players, draft assets) could send Milwaukee’s way.
To make the money work or entice the Bucks, the Warriors might have to send Jimmy Butler the other way, just months after acquiring him and signing him to an extension. That would be quite the development.
It’s probably an unlikely outcome, at best. But you couldn’t blame the Dubs for trying if a generational talent like Giannis decides he wants a change in scenery.
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