The Milwaukee Bucks were never serious in their trade discussions surrounding superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and those fake conversations may have crushed the Golden State Warriors opportunity to land a former Defensive Player of the Year.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne on Thursday's deadline episode of NBA Today, the Warriors had been in conversations with the Memphis Grizzlies in recent weeks, reportedly offering two first-round picks as part of a package for 2x All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr.
Warriors missed out on Jaren Jackson Jr. trade
However, once Antetokounmpo seemingly became available, Golden State pivoted away from the Jackson Jr. conversations to focus all their attention on the 2x MVP. As it turned out, their discussions and offer for Antetokounmpo were never real, with multiple reports now that the Bucks had no intention of trading their franchise legend.
While the Warriors were doing that, the Grizzlies went out and made another deal in sending Jackson to the Utah Jazz as part a mammoth eight-player trade that also netted them three first-round picks -- albeit those picks may not be as valuable as Golden State's depending on what years they were initially offering.
The Bucks put out the bait to get the feelers on the Antetokounmpo market, and the Warriors jumped straight at it. In doing so, they allowed another Western Conference team -- one who could rise past them by next season -- to sneak in and land another big fish.
The result? Golden State end up with another former All-Star big man, only this one in Kristaps Porzingis made his only All-Star appearance way back in 2018 and has played more than 57 games just once in the near decade since.
In many ways the last few weeks have represented what's been the case for the past five years. The Warriors have always had their eye on Antetokounmpo, often passing up on other prospective deals just to maintain the flexibility to target the 10x All-Star if he were to become available.
Then when they (and many across the league) thought Antetokounmpo was finally available, he really wasn't and it cost them a 26-year-old, 2x All-Star who would have elevated Golden State right away while also having the scope to be with the franchise for years down the track.
It's not the Porzingis trade that makes this a disaster, it's the thought of what could or should have been. The Bucks played the Warriors on this one, and it resulted in missing out on Jackson.