What Unlikely Giannis-to-Warriors Trade Would Look Like

Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on the move before the February 5 trade deadline.

Antetokounmpo removed all Bucks content from social media, which typically means a trade is around the corner.

Then ESPN's Shams Charania dropped this news:

Just in: Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis have started conversations with the Milwaukee Bucks about the two-time NBA MVP's future – and discussing whether his best fit is staying or elsewhere, sources tell ESPN. A resolution is expected in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/NfrpL2Ffvr
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 3, 2025

The Golden State Warriors have wanted Antetokounmpo for years. The issue is most of the NBA wants him too.

The Warriors don't have a young star the Bucks would want in return for Giannis. Jonathan Kuminga is probably Golden State's most intriguing trade chip, but he's not in the same class as potential trade centerpieces like Austin Reaves and LaMelo Ball.

The Warriors don't have the contracts to make this move without giving up either Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green.

To make up for their lack of a young star, the Warriors would have to include several picks. Here are two trade proposals that the Warriors could send Milwaukee's way.

Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga and 3 Unprotected 1st-Round Picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma

Butler and Antetokounmpo make the exact same salary this season, and Kuminga makes just 100,000 more than Kuzma, so the money works out perfectly here.

In this scenario, the Bucks choose not to blow up the rest of the roster until the offseason. They get Butler to help them fight for a playoff spot, and by trading Kuzma, they don't have him on the cap sheet for $20.3 million next season, giving them more offseason flexibility. Kuzma has been a disappointment with the Bucks, but the Warriors would need a wing badly after this trade, so they gladly take him back here.

The Bucks also get to try Kuminga out for half a season before deciding if they want to exercise his team option for next year. If Kuminga pops, it'll be an obvious yes. If he doesn't, they'll have more money for free agency.

Of course, the picks are the prize of this trade. The Warriors would give firsts in 2027, 2029 and 2032. The last two would be particularly valuable, as Stephen Curry would be outside his prime in 2029 and probably retired in 2032.

If Butler (36) and Antetokounmpo (30) were the same age, the Warriors probably wouldn't have to give up three unprotected firsts. But the fact that Antetokounmpo is more than five years younger makes that a reasonable request.

Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield and 3 Unprotected 1st-Round Picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis

Perhaps the Bucks won't want Butler's huge contract on the books for 2026-27, and if so, pretty much any trade will have to have Green, Kuminga and Moody to make the money work.

The Warriors will not like having to give up Moody and his team-friendly three-year, $37.5 million contract, but they do so to make their package more alluring. And in this deal they keep Butler, so they'd at least have one elite wing on the roster.

Draymond Green has a $27.7 million player option for next season. My guess is he'd exercise it and then seek a trade to a contender that could result in Milwaukee getting another asset.

Bobby Portis (30) won't fit the Bucks' youth movement, so they get off his three-year, $43.6 million contract. He fills a void as a scoring forward for the Warriors off the bench.

We're keeping the same three first-round picks (2027, 2029 and 2032) in this offer, though if you'd like to argue that the Warriors would have to give up a first-round pick swap as well, I won't stop you.

Why a 3-Team Giannis-to-Warriors Trade Is Unlikely

Let's say the Bucks want the Warriors' first-round picks, but they don't want Jimmy Butler, so they ask the Warriors to find a taker for him.

With his salary ($54.1 million this season, $56.8 million next season) that wouldn't be easy. But even if they do find a team with some interest, that same team will likely want Antetokounmpo more. So as long as that team has several future first-round picks and swaps to trade, it can offer that with its package of young players for Antetokounmpo, leaving the Warriors in the cold.

Perhaps the one way it could work is if the Suns, who have virutally no future draft capital, want to trade for Butler like they did at last season's trade deadline. Maybe something like Jalen Green, Grayson Allen, Mark Williams and Golden State first-round picks to Milwaukee, Butler to Phoenix and Antetokounmpo to the Warriors would work.

But we only get this far if nobody else has an offer that blows this out of the water.