Giannis rumors may have just sealed Warriors' trade deadline fate

Rising uncertainty on the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo is making it rather obvious where the Golden State Warriors will land when it comes to their trade plans prior to next month's February 5 deadline.

There's now enough reporting and speculation to suggest that Antetokounmpo could truly become available, meaning the Warriors are unlikely to pursue alternative deals until there's a resolution on the Milwaukee Bucks superstar.

Warriors won't make a move until Giannis' future becomes clearer

We know from years of reporting -- and notable intel more recently -- that Golden State are going to be eager to push their case for Antetokounmpo. NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported only last week that "the Warriors naturally do plan to feature prominently in the trade mix for Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo."

ESPN's Marc Spears has stated his belief that Antetokounmpo has played his last game in Milwaukee, with the 31-year-old suffering a calf strain in the final moments of Friday's disastrous loss to a depleted Denver Nuggets.

The Antetokounmpo domino -- whether it falls or not -- is hanging over everything and will prevent little movement elsewhere around the league until such time as something is finalized. That essentially seals the fate of Golden State doing anything in the next few days, despite the fact there should be increased urgency in the wake of Jimmy Butler's devastating season-ending knee injury.

There were many Warrior fans who wanted a resolution on Jonathan Kuminga's future (i.e. a trade to take place) from the moment the young forward became eligible to be moved again on January 15. Instead, it looks like Golden State's trade activity (if any at all) will come right down to the wire.

The good news is that if Antetokounmpo is traded elsewhere, that could allow the Warriors to be more serious about other targets than they otherwise are currently. The bad news is that if Antetokounmpo remains in Milwaukee beyond the deadline, the chances of Golden State doing anything significant in the next 10 days are limited because they'll want to retain their ability to trade for the 10x All-Star during the offseason.

That would mean more likelihood that Kuminga also remains with the Warriors, or that they move him in more of a sideways trade that doesn't involve them giving up multiple first-round picks for an upgrade.

The Warriors have hamstrung themselves with this Antetokounmpo dream for years, but at least this time there might actually be a resolution around the corner one way or the other.