As Giannis Antetokounmpo prepares to meet with the Milwaukee Bucks this week, discussion is already prominent on where his future may lie and whether the Golden State Warriors could trade for the 2x MVP.
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned on Friday’s episode of ‘Get Up’, the Warriors won’t win a bidding war for Antetokounmpo but could still be an option if the 30-year-old declares a strong desire to end up in the Bay.
While that’s not expected to happen imminently, there are already rumblings that Antetokounmpo may have interesting in teaming with Stephen Curry in the search for a second NBA championship.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly intrigued by playing with Stephen Curry and the Warriors
On the latest episode of Real Ones (as part of The Ringer’s NBA Show), Logan Murdock, Howard Beck and Sam Amick brought up Curry’s All-Star weekend party and the fact Antetokounmpo was the only non-Warrior player to attend.
Murdock then added a glint of hope for Golden State fans who want to Antetokounmpo in the Bay, suggesting that the ‘Greek Freak’ has been intrigued by the idea.
“There was a feeling that Giannis was very, very intrigued by the idea of one day being a teammate of Steph Curry’s. There was at least a feeling that Giannis wanted to play with Steph and be teammates with him,” Mudock said.
The issue for the Warriors is that Antetokounmpo still has two years left on his contract, giving the Bucks real leverage in any negotiations that may take place if their superstar were to request a trade.
Even if Antetokounmpo were to want a move to Golden State specifically, rival teams won’t necessarily be put off knowing they’ll get him for at least the next two seasons. Antetokounmpo also doesn’t appear like the type of person who will hold out and refuse to play for a team if that’s not the desired place he wants to go.
It’s a contrasting situation to that of former Warrior Kevin Durant this offseason. With the 2x Finals MVP set to be on an expiring contract, teams are going to be far less inclined to trade significant assets if they view it only as a one-year rental before Durant hits free agency.
Golden State themselves have already gone through that, having balked at re-acquiring Durant in February when the 36-year-old made it known he didn’t want to be moved from the Phoenix Suns mid-season.
