Along with the rest of the league, the Golden State Warriors' trade deadline was turned on its head with news of Giannis Antetokounmpo's potential availability. It appears as though the time has come, either now or in the offseason, for Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks to part ways.
This is something the Warriors have long awaited, even holding onto tradeable assets with the eventual hope that the superstar forward would become available.
Well, the time has come. Golden State can now spring into action.
There will obviously be a massive sweepstakes for Antetokounmpo, and teams have already started making aggressive offers. According to Brad Botkin at CBS Sports, however, the Warriors could perhaps offer the most tantalizing package. If they're willing to part with everything they've got, that is.
No other team stands a chance if the Warriors decide to empty the cupboards
In many ways, the value of the Warriors' future draft picks has been explained and turned over ad nauseam. When Stephen Curry inevitably retires, Golden State will almost certainly bottom out given their lack of a strong young core.
Those draft picks, for an undefined set of seasons, will be among the most valuable in the league. It's why the Warriors have been so hesitant to part with them in recent years.
While Golden State doesn't necessarily have the premier young talent to offer, Botkin thinks that these picks could easily put them in the front-running in an Antetokounmpo sweepstakes:
"They can offer four of them right now, per ESPN, and swap rights in up to seven seasons. Let's imagine a package where the Warriors give the Bucks picks outright in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 along with a 2031 swap, and then force the Warriors to trade first-round swap rights in 2027 and 2029 to other teams for even more assets to give Milwaukee."Brad Botkin
Such a move would leave the Warriors without full control of their own first-round pick until 2033: six full seasons after the expiration of Curry's current contract. Antetokounmpo, who is already 31, will likely be well past his prime, if not retired, by that point.
The other teams Botkin lists as the top suitors for Antetokounmpo are the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the New York Knicks.
The Knicks are only in play if Giannis declares his intention to go there given their lack of future draft capital. The Heat, meanwhile, can beat the Warriors out as far as young talent goes, but similarly do not have the draft capital to stack up against Golden State's coffers.
The Timberwolves' route, according to Botkin, is only accessible through a series of trades that would bring draft capital back to Minnesota.
In short, the Warriors are one of the only teams poised to immediately take a swing at Antetokounmpo. At the very least, fans should be excited about that.