The Golden State Warriors tried and failed to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They offered four first-round draft picks to the Milwaukee Bucks at the February Trade Deadline -- along with a package that almost certainly included franchise stalwart Draymond Green. The Bucks rebuffed, in part because they are the league's most indecisive team, in part because they thought the offers would get better this summer.
What the Warriors need is a way to punch up their offer -- if, of course, the goal is winning the Giannis trade sweepstakes. How can they do that? By winning the NBA Draft Lottery.
Winning the Lottery opens up options
Steve Kerr just agreed to return for two more years -- likely his last two with the franchise -- and coach out the remainder of Stephen Curry's prime. Curry, for his part, has made it clear that he loves playing for the Warriors if he is on a team that can compete.
That, plus the league's expected anti-tanking reforms coming in ahead of next season, all add up to the Warriors doing their best to try and win games next season. This is despite Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody being certain to miss multiple months of the season rehabbing from significant injuries.
On paper, winning the lottery would mean pivoting to a new era of Warriors basketball. Trade Curry, trade Draymond, trade Butler, build a new team around AJ Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer. With Kerr returning, that option seems entirely off the table.
The second option is to keep the pick and play the Two Timelines approach -- a phrase that might trigger a shudder through the bodies of Warriors fans. Add a top prospect to the team on a cost-controlled contract, hope that he gets good enough fast enough, and try to win in the playoffs now while preserving the foundation of the post-Curry Warriors.
The Warriors could trade for Antetokounmpo
The third option is to pull off that blockbuster trade. The Warriors have a 9.4 percent chance of moving up into the Top 4 of Sunday's draft lottery (12:00 PM PT). That would give them a sparkling trade asset to place at the center of a package for another star.
Do they trade for Antetokounmpo? That would be the most obvious option. He still plays at a Top-5 level when he is healthy, he has connections to the Bay Area, and he and Curry appear to be friendly. All of the murmurings suggest that he will truly be available ahead of the draft. Wouldn't the Bucks like to kickstart their rebuild with not one, but two Top 10 picks?
Antetokounmpo would raise the team's ceiling significantly. Come the playoffs, a healthy Jimmy Butler could join Curry and Antetokounmpo to give the Warriors an aging but impactful Top-3 that could go toe-to-toe with other playoff teams. They would have a real shot at pulling an upset or two.
Giannis is not the only trade option, of course. Will the Cavaliers put Donovan Mitchell on the trade market? Will Kawhi Leonard be available? LeBron James? Could they get a re-do on the 2021 NBA Draft and trade for Franz Wagner?
The biggest star, of course, if Antetokounmpo. The stars may be aligning for the Warriors to make another run at him. And if they had a Top 4 pick to bedazzle the Bucks with, they just might have enough to land him.
Should they? That's an entirely different question. But if they want to, they might have what they need by 12:30 PM PT on Sunday afternoon.
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