ESPN insider gives Warriors fans thrilling new hope on blockbuster Giannis trade

Giannis Antetokounmpo is officially on the trade market, meaning the Golden State Warriors must be preparing their best offer after years of dreaming and hoping that the Milwaukee Bucks superstar would actually be available to them.

Because of that dream, the Warriors have held off on so many other possibilities. Fans have criticized that rightly or wrongly, but either way it now gives them a genuine shot at Antetokounmpo, and arguably the best offer to throw at the Bucks of any team before the February 5 trade deadline.

ESPN insider gives thrilling new hope on Giannis-Warriors trade

If you're a Golden State fan desperate to see Antetokounmpo alongside Stephen Curry in the Bay Area, look no further than ESPN's Brian Windhorst as a source of legitimate optimism in the wake of the 2x MVP's trade request (or whatever term you want to use to describe it).

Speaking during Wednesday's episode of NBA Today, Windhorst outlined how the Bucks should be prioritizing future draft capital, and that the Warriors are best prepared to deliver that kind of pick-based offer.

"The Golden State Warriors are a team that rises to the top of the list," Windhorst said. "The Warriors hold all their future draft assets, they can trade all of them, up to four firsts and swaps and stuff like that. This is where this discussion begins is Golden State and everyone else is gonna have to try to beat a strong Golden State offer [for Giannis] if it comes."

As thrilling as it may be to hear that Golden State could have a genuine chance of having Antetokounmpo on their team by the end of next week, no one should be surprised that their offer could be among the best.

The Warriors have had interest in Antetokounmpo dating back to 2019 -- that's nearly seven years. While they've won a championship in the meantime, you'd argue they've been hoarding picks waiting for this very moment.

The picks they've had during that time -- most notably three lottery picks in 2020 and 2021 -- they've largely held onto. In the case of James Wiseman and now Jonathan Kuminga, they retained those assets for far too long to the point they weren't/aren't assets at all.

Of all their future first-round picks, the only one not fully in their control is the 2030 one which is top 20 protected and otherwise heads to Washington. Sure, it's a major positive that Windhorst has made these comments, but Golden State fans should actually be disappointed if it were anything different given the lack of movement in recent years.

The Warriors have been setting themselves up for years -- and arguably wasted years -- for this very moment. Now is the time to see if it actually pays off and whether the Antetokounmpo dream becomes a reality.