On Sunday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscription required) wrote that according to four people who are close to Giannis Antetokounmpo's situation (that is currently on pause until the offseason), they have "maintained that a move to a true title contender is the most likely endgame for the 31-year-old." If that ends up happening, that means he won't end up with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State was in the mix for Antetokounmpo before the deadline, when Milwaukee finally listened to offers for its superstar. The Warriors were more desperate after Jimmy Butler's season-ending injury, but they couldn't sway the Bucks to part with Giannis. No team could.
He'll be eligible to sign an extension with Milwaukee on Oct. 1, but you can assume that the Bucks will know before then whether he intends to stay in Wisconsin long-term. Antetokounmpo could be on the move a few months before then.
If Milwaukee does listen to offers for Giannis with the intention of actually trading him, you can bet that the Warriors will be in the mix. They'll be one of many teams to try to pry the former Finals MVP away from the Bucks, but they aren't true title contenders, as Fischer wrote. They're not even title contenders (sorry).
How interested would Giannis be in a trade to the Warriors?
If Giannis and Milwaukee are series about a trade this summer, he'll have leverage in where he ends up, as he has a $62.8 million player option he could decline next offseason to become an unrestricted free agent. Why would a team want to give up a mix of assets and young talent (if the latter is what the Bucks still want) for a one-year rental? They'll want reassurance.
Golden State could send several first-round picks to Milwaukee for Antetokounmpo, and perhaps those picks will be enough to pique the Bucks' interest. The players involved could be the hold up, but it could turn into a multi-team deal. It's worth wondering how fair Milwaukee would even want to go in negotiations with a team that Giannis may not even want to play for.
If it were five years ago, things would probably be different, assuming San Francisco isn't somewhere he wants to be.
Steph Curry is Steph Curry, but he'll be 38 in a few weeks. Antetokounmpo wants to win a second championship, and his timeline to do so in Golden State would be very short. It's why Fischer reported Giannis' interest in playing with Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey before the deadline.
You can't rule out any possibility in the whirlwind of chaos that is the NBA, but the Warriors don't have the appeal that other teams interested in Antetokounmpo do.