The thought of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Warriors has been talked about ever since the idea of Kevin Durant leaving the Bay became a realistic possibility.
The Warriors, lightyears ahead of everyone, reportedly already had their eye on the next great free-agent prize to keep their dynastic run charging full steam ahead.
There's little doubt the Warriors would be interested in luring Antetokounmpo away from the Bucks when he becomes a free agent after the 2020-21 season, but the Bucks reportedly aren't sweating the five-time defending Western Conference champions pursuit of "The Greek Freak."
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“Keeping Giannis, it’s a focus obviously,” one Bucks front-office source told Heavy.com's Sean Deveney. “But fighting the Warriors is not a focus. The Warriors are not the concern in the least. They’d have a long way to go to get him to Golden State, they’d have to give away a lot. He has never given any indication that he wants to leave Milwaukee. So a lot of that stuff, it is more chatter than anything.”
The "chatter" got a lot louder Tuesday when ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported the Dubs are "a big threat" to sign Antetokounmpo once he enters free agency.
Now, wanting to sign the 2019 NBA MVP is understandable, but it would take some pretty heavy roster and cap gymnastics on the Warriors' part. Golden State currently has four players signed to max contracts -- Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell -- and none of their contracts will be up by the time Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent in 2021.
In order to pay Giannis the massive amount he'll demand, the Dubs would have to trade Thompson and one of Green or Russell in order to get under the tax to offer the $35-$40 million per season it will require to land Antetokounmpo.
Golden State Warriors
Not impossible, but it seems unlikely at this point.
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With Kawhi Leonard leaving the Eastern Conference, the Bucks are in prime position to make a run at the NBA Finals and further nudge their star in the direction of signing the supermax extension with them.
The Bucks are in the driver's season, but you never can count out the Warriors.