Ranking NBA star players Warriors could attempt to acquire in trade

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Editor's note: Grant Liffmann (@grantliffmann) is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders, which airs on NBC Sports Bay Area 60 minutes after every game. Each week, Grant will drop his Outsider Observation on the state of the Dubs.

Trade season is about to heat up in the NBA, and the Warriors will be at the forefront of many rumors, mostly in regards to them selling some of their assets.

Names such as Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III and Willie Cauley-Stein assuredly will be linked to various trade talks ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, but it's yet to be seen how willing the Warriors will be to give them away without receiving draft picks in return.

At this point, unless the Warriors are blown away by an offer, it's very unlikely they will make a big splash trade and acquire a star. It's much more likely that they will enter the offseason with a much clearer picture of the market, as well as the valuable knowledge of the draft order. If they were to land the top pick, or somewhere near the top, then Bob Myers and Co. will have many assets to play around with, including D'Angelo Russell and a massive trade exception from the Andre Iguodala deal.

Many big names have been discussed this season, as players eventually could be on the move if they were to become disgruntled in their current situations, or if their team decides to reshuffle the deck. Here are some of these players, in order of who should be at the top of the Warriors' wish list:

Giannis Antentokounmpo

There is no reason to go into depth about why The Greek Freak would be the Warriors' top choice. The notion of putting him alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson should make the front office drool and the rest of the league terrified.

We've seen the videos of Curry jokingly recruiting Giannis, and many around the league wonder if the Warriors would be his top choice if he wanted out of Milwaukee. Warriors fans hoping for this dream scenario should be hopeful that the Bucks have an early disappointing exit in the playoffs, making it a more realistic situation for Giannis to perhaps think about a change of scenery.

Joel Embiid

Speaking of Warriors fans hoping for an Eastern Conference team's early playoff exit, the Philadelphia 76ers employ two of the rumored potentially disgruntled players. One of them is Embiid, the incredibly talented and eccentric center.

Embiid is an offensive force and a beast on defense. While he has injury concerns, acquiring him to put alongside the Splash Brothers would be a nightmare for the rest of the NBA.

Karl-Anthony Towns 

Teaming Towns and Russell together would be the Timberwolves' first choice if they could, but if Towns decides he wants out of Minnesota, then there's a chance he could be traded for his good friend.

Towns is the quintessential new-age center, with incredible athleticism and ability to shoot the three-ball, which he is doing at a lethal 41.8 percent clip. His defense sometimes can be spotty, but his overall talent and just being 24 years of age makes him one of the most valuable big men in the league.

Ben Simmons

The 76ers' dynamic playmaker still is just 23 and refining his game. There is plenty of criticism regarding Simmons' inability and lack of willingness to take jump shots or threes. But at the end of the day, he's still a 6-foot-10 supreme athlete who can do a little bit of everything on the court (yes, other than shooting as of now) while also being an elite defender.

Spacing could be a bit of an issue with Simmons on the court with the other Warriors stars, but with all the amazing benefits that come with his game, the team would love to be in a position to have to make it work.

Bradley Beal

Beal is not necessarily a dream fit next to Curry and Thompson, at just 6-3 and a bit of a volume shooter. However, Beal is a dynamic scorer, averaging almost 28 points per game for the Wizards this season.

Beal's shooting percentages have declined, mostly because he's the main focal point for opposing defenses, but if he were coupled with the Warriors' stars, it's safe to assume he would get more open looks than he has in his entire career.

The mere fact that Beal can be more of a catch-and-shoot type threat more than a ball-dominant player could make some think he's a better fit in the backcourt than Russell. But is it a big enough difference to take on Beal's huge contract? Maybe not.

[RELATED: Giannis jokes about convo with Steph]

Kevin Love

The Warriors were very close to pulling off a trade for Love a long time ago, and they're so thankful they didn't and kept Klay instead.

At 31 years old and past his prime, could Love be a fit now? No, not really. He's owed a lot of money by the Cavaliers, and his defense is nearly non-existent at this point. His rebounding and ability to stretch the floor can benefit some teams, but the cons definitely outweigh the pros when deciding if Love could be a fit with Golden State.

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