When the Golden State Warriors were at a crossroads once before, they went out and brought in one of the best players in the NBA.
Now, as their dynasty hits another fork in the road, could they do it again?
Warriors fans yearning to get back to the top of the NBA seemingly got some fodder on Thursday, thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks star, who frequently goes on Instagram Live, was asked by a fan to “please come to the Warriors.” The former MVP repeated the statement to a person off-camera, smiled and laughed as he said, “Aye man.”
The video ends there at 17 seconds and sent the NBA’s social media circles buzzing at the possibility. Even ESPN’s daily NBA show, NBA Today, quickly showed the video and proceeded to mention the possibility of Antetokounmpo with Steph Curry.
But what ESPN and the original tweet didn’t show, thanks to some editing: Antetokounmpo’s immediate rebuttal to the idea in the seconds just after saying, “Aye man.”
“No, I’m not that kind of guy,” Antetokounmpo said.
In some ways, it’s the danger of misinformation in the modern age, though no artificial intelligence or “deep fake” technology was used here. Tricky editing can make something rather innocuous seem totally different.
Antetokounmpo doesn’t want to be traded. Even if he did, the Bucks would be highly disincentivized to trade him. And even if they finally decided to, other teams could put together offers that could challenge, if not beat, the Warriors’ best offer. It’d take Antetokounmpo requesting a trade and saying he only wants to come to Golden State.
But also, let’s be abundantly clear: the Warriors should absolutely make an attempt to get Antetokounmpo and pair him with Curry, getting the last two Finals MVPs onto the same team. Because, well, why the heck not?
“The Greek Freak” averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game this year. He’s still directly in his prime at 28 and he’s easily one of the best athletes in the league in every way.
Oh, and he and Curry have looked incredible when playing together in several All-Star games. Watch any of those clips and you’ll see why Warriors fans would want to bring him in.
The Warriors’ answer to, “What would you give up for Giannis?” is likely, “Anyone but Steph.” A realistic trade structure could be formed around Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and whatever draft picks the Warriors could feasibly move for Antetokounmpo and another player to make it work for the salary cap (possibly Grayson Allen).
It’s fun to dream of what Curry and Antetokounmpo would look like together. And maybe fans can fire up NBA 2K and see if the trade offer would get accepted and work.
But don’t expect it to happen in reality.
