Giannis Antetokounmpo might remain at the Milwaukee Bucks as he enters his 13th NBA season, but media day comments from the 2x MVP did little to ruin the hopes and dreams of the Golden State Warriors or any other team looking to pursue him in the future.
Antetekounmpo failed to recall an offseason meeting with Bucks governor Wes Edens where he apparently pledged his future to the franchise, albeit the potential of a trade request never came either despite a myriad of speculation.
The 9x All-Star has been the dream trade target for the Warriors for quite some time, though they'll quite obviously face no shortage of competition if what is arguably a top two player in the world ever becomes available.
The Warriors don't have the trade package to land Giannis
Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets or even the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder could use their assets to make a play at bringing Antetokounmpo to the already dominant Western Conference.
The Warriors do have their own future picks that could be incredibly valuable to the Bucks or any other team around the league, but that won't be enough according to NBA insider Jake Fischer who almost buried their hopes of landing Antetokounmpo earlier in the week.
"But at this point in time I don't really see how Golden State has the salary, has the players, has the draft capital to compete especially for Giannis if he were to hit the open market as a trade candidate," Fischer said.
The salary-matching aspect to this is almost as difficult as giving up the picks from a Golden State perspective, such is the challenge in reaching the $54.1 million Antetokounmpo is slated to make this season.
The Warriors did increase their mid-season trade flexibility by re-signing Jonathan Kuminga to a two-year, $48.5 million contract, but that is still less than half of they'd need in a Giannis trade. The brutal reality is that Golden State would need to be willing to part ways with either Jimmy Butler, or perhaps more likely franchise legend Draymond Green to make the salaries work.
Some combination of Kuminga, Green, Brandin Podziemski and a boatload of picks might be the best the Warriors can offer up, and even then it might not be enough according to Fischer. This is all a moot point until Antetokounmpo actually requests a trade (if at all), with a big watch now on how the Bucks start the season after a period of change and some uncertainty.