Latest Giannis Antetokounmpo Report Is Bad News for the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have wanted Giannis Antetokounmpo for several years, but their chances of landing him took a blow based on the latest report.

Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic reported that "it’s widely believed he’d prefer to play for an Eastern Conference team."

Antetokounmpo has two years left on his contract, but the second year is a player option.

That means he could become a free agent next offseason.

That's why the Bucks are expected to trade him. They can't risk losing him for nothing. But it also means the acquiring team will want an assurance that Antetokounmpo will sign an extension, which is why Antetokounmpo's preference is an important part of this saga.

Would Landing a Top-4 Pick Improve Warriors' Chances?

The Warriors have a 9.4 chance of landing a top-four pick in Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery.

Amick and Nehm wrote about the ramifications of the result of the draft lottery.

"The Warriors would still love nothing more than to bring Antetokounmpo to town and, eventually, sign him to a long-term extension to play alongside Steph Curry in his golden years. But there’s a reason they were trying so hard to get a deal done at the deadline, as they were well aware that there would be a lot more competition for Antetokounmpo’s services if this situation got pushed to the summer. Alas, here they are.

"That doesn’t mean there’s no hope, but it would help their possible proposal if the lottery balls landed in their favor."

There's no doubt that the Bucks would be more interested in a return package with a top-four 2026 pick.

But then the question becomes, would the Warriors trade that pick for a player who might not want to sign an extension?

What a Giannis Trade Would Look Like

It was reported that the Warriors were willing to trade four unprotected first-round picks for Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, and that likely hasn't changed.

The main difference between this offseason and the trade deadline is that the Warriors will be able to trade their 2033 first-round pick.

The best pick-package offer the Warriors can make is first-round picks in 2026 (Warriors pick for the Bucks before the deal becomes official later), 2028, 2030 and 2032 AND first-round pick swaps in 2031 and 2033.

Then the Warriors would have to find ways to match salaries to make the trade legal, and the most likely way to do that is trading Jimmy Butler.

That Butler is out for half of next season shouldn't be a deal-breaker for a Bucks team finally hitting reset. They might value the Warriors' pick package over teams' packages with young talent.

My guess is four first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps and Butler would be too rich even for the desperate Warriors, but something close to that would likely be needed to win the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

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