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The Warriors continue to get bad news on Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, but at the same time are linked to LeBron James in free agency.
The Golden State Warriors wanted to land Giannis Antetokounmpo at the 2026 NBA trade deadline, and despite pursuing all avenues, couldn’t make a deal work with the Milwaukee Bucks.
While the Warriors are still interested in an Antetokounmpo trade over the offseason, the team’s hopes of landing the two-time regular-season MVP might now be out of reach.
According to insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, people close to Antetokounmpo ‘maintained that a move to a true title contender is the most likely endgame for the 31-year-old,’ but at this point in Golden State’s history, they don’t appear to be one of those teams.
Though Shams Charania did report that the Warriors were one of the teams in the hunt for the Greek star at the deadline, with the franchise’s lessening assets, the aging Stephen Curry, and other packages teams around the league could offer the Bucks for the superstar, Golden State will face an uphill battle to land Antetokounmpo over the offseason, should he chose to not sign a contract extension with Milwaukee.
Warriors Get Bad News On Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Rumors
Fischer added that, as the Warriors aren’t true title contenders in their current iteration, making a trade for Antetokounmpo will be very difficult, even though they still expect to be in the race for the 2021 Finals MVP this offseason if he does become available.
Writing for BlueManHoop.com, Jordanna Clark discussed that, with all the latest reporting about Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee, Golden State continues to not look like one of the top options as a landing spot for the superstar.
Along with the relatively limited assets the Warriors would be able to move, whether it is the contract of Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, or another younger player, the four tradable first-round picks they have to offer, and the near-40-year-old Curry, Golden State isn’t as tantalizing a location as they would have been in the past.
“If it were five years ago, things would probably be different,” she wrote. “Steph Curry is Steph Curry, but he’ll be 38 in a few weeks. Antetokounmpo wants to win a second championship, and his timeline to do so in Golden State would be very short.”
Fischer had also previously reported Antetokounmpo had interest in teaming up with either Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves or Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers, and recently speaking to Malika Andrews of ESPN, the Warriors were not one of the five other teams he mentioned as having eyes for earlier in his career.
Golden State will still make a push for Antetokounmpo over the offseason, but as time goes on, with the minimal trade assets the Bucks would be interested in, the Bay Area as a landing spot for the Greek star feels more and more unlikely.
Warriors Named As Next LeBron James Team
Despite the bad news for the Warriors on the Antetokounmpo front, the team has recently been linked to LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, set to become a free agent this summer.
Golden State had reportedly made a push to land the league’s all-time leading scorer at a past trade deadline, but failed. However, NBA insider Sam Amick had offered up the San Francisco team as a potential landing spot for the 41-year-old, and most recently, Bill Simmons said the same.
James has been linked to a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but with the current state of his old team, competing for a title while playing host to his retirement tour could be a lot to ask.
“I might be wrong, but I wanted to go on the record,” Simmons said. “I think it’s going to be Golden State. That would be my bet.”
Bill Simmons says LeBron joining the Warriors makes more sense for a potential farewell tour over an “awkward” return to Cleveland next year
(via @ringer)
“Golden State makes the most sense to me because they actually need him. And the narrative of, ‘I’m going to finish my career with Steph Curry, the other great player of my generation. We won Olympic gold medals together. The team kind of needs me.‘”
While James and Curry have never been on the record talking about playing with each other, Green recently expressed interest in playing with his longtime friend and rival, currently in Los Angeles.
Whatever comes this offseason, whether it be with Antetokounmpo or James, the Warriors aren’t going to end their dynasty quietly, hoping to at least compete for one more championship in the final years they have left with Curry.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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