Thanks to both on-court results and a notable trade update, the chances of the Golden State Warriors acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo may have received a thrilling boost on Sunday.
There's a host of rivals (including the Warriors) who are monitoring Antetokounmpo's uncertain situation at the Milwaukee Bucks, but there could be three teams already out of the race according to the latest from NBA insider Marc Stein.
Warriors may see less competition in Giannis sweepstakes
Stein believes that all three of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets have little interest in Antetokounmpo despite possessing the sort of contracts and young talent that could have made them interesting suitors.
"There is a growing belief among trade-trackers that San Antonio and Houston, like Oklahoma City, do not plan to join the chase for Antetokounmpo even if the Bucks ultimately do decide to consider in-season proposals for their two-time MVP. All three of those teams, as you can imagine, like what they have going," Stein wrote.
Obviously the less rivals chasing Antetokounmpo the better for Golden State, allowing them far greater opportunity to come out as winners in a market that's becoming clearer by the day. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Saturday that the Warriors, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves all have interest in the 9x All-Star who is yet to formally request a trade from Milwaukee.
That might be coming sooner rather than later though after the Bucks, currently playing without the injured Antetokounmpo, suffered a disastrous 45-point loss to the lowly Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Milwaukee is 11-16 on the season and 10th in the Eastern Conference, having now lost 11 of their past 14 games.
Golden State may still be behind at least the Knicks and Heat when it comes to favoritism to land Antetokounmpo if he becomes available, especially the former who have been strongly linked as the only confirmed team the 31-year-old has interest in playing for.
Yet with a raft of valuable future draft capital at their disposal, the Warriors could theoretically outbid both the Knicks and Heat if the Bucks are more worried about the return more so than prioritizing where Antetokounmpo wants to play.
Golden State would still have to part ways with one of Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green to make a deal work, something that would be heart-breaking but likely worth it for what is one of the best players in the league.
Antetokounmpo has averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in his 17 games this season, shooting an incredible 63.9% from the floor and 43.5% from 3-point range.