Still in the hunt for another All-Star to pair with Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors will be closely monitoring a number of teams around the league once the new season gets underway.
After being in the hunt for Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, it appears the Warriors will enter the 2024-25 season bereft of a second star but with the depth to potentially manage the fort sufficiently in the meantime.
Golden State's intent to land another star this offseason suggests even they know their current roster isn't enough to be considered in championship contention, leading to the prospect of a plethora of trade speculation ahead of the February mid-season deadline.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the dream trade target for the Warriors
Atop the Warriors wish-list -- Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. During a recent appearance on The TK Show, Sam Amick of The Athletic noted that Golden State majority owner Joe Lacob "has had dreams of Giannis coming the Warriors' way for a very long time."
But that's just where it will end right? As a dream? Well perhaps not if the league-wide view on the Bucks entering next season comes to any sort of fruition. According to ESPN's Zach Lowe during a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, coaches, front office personnel and others around the league are highly pessimistic on Milwaukee's chances of responding from their first-round playoff exit last season.
“No one's buying...I just hear they're old. This iteration isn't going to work. I'm like, okay," Lowe said. "I'm stunned at the level of pessimism about the Bucks.”
Lowe evaluated the Bucks as the team to worry about the most entering the season. While that may raise hopes of the Warriors' chances of one day landing the 'Greek Freek', there's still a myriad of hurdles to jump over before it turns from dream into reality.
Not only would Milwaukee have to stumble again next season, but their future outlook would have to take an even more significant dent for Antetokounmpo to consider a trade request. Even if that were to eventuate, the Warriors would be one of 29 teams trying to get their hands on the 2x MVP.
Now, Golden State do have far greater assets in the form of young players and future picks than many around the league, yet they're not quite at the top when it comes to potential trade packages that could be offered. Antetokounmpo is under contract for another three seasons, giving Milwaukee leverage should the situation develop.
We're still a while away from this emerging into a legitimate possibility, but there is enough smoke to suggest it's something the Warriors should be monitoring over the coming months.