The Golden State Warriors have been strongly linked to a trade for Trey Murphy III since the early days off the offseason, but the New Orleans Pelicans wing simply won't supersede the front office's dream of trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
That's according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype whose report on Thursday shouldn't come as a surprise, proving the latest indication that the Warriors won't relinquish their draft capital until the future of the Milwaukee Bucks superstar becomes far clearer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly the Warriors' primary trade target
While the Warriors certainly have interest in Murphy whose future has become a little uncertain amid the Pelicans horror start to the season, it's Antetokounmpo who remains their primary target.
"Rival executives around the league believe the Warriors will ultimately prioritize a Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit ahead of Murphy before cashing in all their trade chips in an attempt to land the Pelican forward," Scotto wrote.
This might bring some frustration among Golden State fans who've seemingly seen their team dismiss other opportunities in order to retain their assets for a potential Antetokounmpo bid. All the while they're wasting the final period of Stephen Curry's greatness, with nothing emphasizing that more than the 2x MVP exploding for 87 points over the last two games in a pair of losses.
However, at the same time, the front office's dream of trading for Antetokounmpo has seemingly never been closer. While the Milwaukee Bucks remain intent on being 'buyers' and making more moves to surround the 31-year-old with as much talent as possible, their 11-16 record is undeniable and has many believing that Antetokounmpo could be on the move before the deadline.
If the Warriors are going to put a halt on Murphy and essentially every other trade opportunity that requires their draft picks, they must have some level of confidence that they can actually pull of an Antetokounmpo trade.
Should the Greek Freak head elsewhere, and Golden State aren't able to land a strong fallback option like Murphy, then criticism should rightfully come their way, not to mention the team is likely to remain stuck outside the top tier of contenders in the league.
Perhaps the Warriors won't be the only team taking a similar strategy. There's a chance that very little happens on the trade market, especially when it comes to valuable players like Murphy, until the Antetokounmpo domino falls. That will be Golden State's hope, ensuring that other notable targets remain in limbo while the Antetokounmpo speculation lingers.