If Giannis Antetokounmpo requested a trade today, or if the Bucks made him available, the Golden State Warriors would be among many teams making their best offer. The problem is, though, that the 31-year-old said he'd never request a trade, and Milwaukee would never trade him if he didn't explicitly say that's what he wanted. Oh, and there's the fact that to get him, Golden State would have to tear apart its roster (and future).
If push comes to shove and the Bucks trade Giannis, it wouldn't look anything like the return package the Mavericks received for Luka Dončić last year. Milwaukee would want to set itself up as well as it could in its post-Giannis era.
Would a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade be worth it for the Warriors?
For the Warriors to get him, it'd probably mean getting rid of Draymond Green (or Jimmy Butler if the Bucks wanted him), Jonathan Kuminga, and at least one to two other players (Moses Moody? Brandin Podziemski?), as well as picks.
You might be wondering why the Bucks would want an offer made up of some combination of the one above, considering they would (or should) enter a rebuild after trading Giannis. Kuminga is young (23) but still unproven. Podziemski is 22 and is the kind of player whom Milwaukee should target in a return. Still, to reach Giannis' $54.1 million salary, the Warriors would have to give up Green or Butler.
If Giannis did officially hit the market, the front office probably wouldn't be thinking about what the ramifications of that kind of trade would be, but instead about how it'd boost the team's chances of winning another title with Steph Curry.
Their desperation to do so could be enough for them to put together their best possible offer. Still, even then, it might not be enough, not just because the Bucks might be seeking a different return, but because the Warriors may not be a championship team.
Steph and Giannis on the same team would, in theory, vault Golden State back into the title conversation, but how would the rest of the roster around that duo look? Would the Warriors have the depth they need to make a run? Or to withstand an injury to one of their two stars?
Again, the front office likely wouldn't spend a lot of time pondering the above questions, but would, understandably, jump at the opportunity to get Giannis. It's the outcome they've been planning for, without knowing for sure that it will ever happen.
They'd make the move if the Bucks agreed and worry about the rest later, but the rest could come back to haunt them pretty soon.