Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
Name whatever star-studded trio you want around the current NBA landscape, and the Golden State Warriors will beat it if their dreams of acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo actually become reality before the February mid-season trade deadline.
The pairing of Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry has always been a tantalizing one for fans to consider, and a scary theoretical one for opposing teams given their respective statures as the greatest shooter of all-time and one of the most dominant interior forces of all-time.
Warriors will have league's best trio with blockbuster Giannis trade
That combination of a top three player and a version of Curry who, despite being nearly 38-years-old, is a still a top 10-12 player at least, might be enough to catapult the Warriors back into legitimate championship contention.
But then you have to consider that Jimmy Butler could still be part of the fabric even if Antetokounmpo enters. Sure, the 6x All-Star may be part of the trade and particularly if the Bucks want to remain as competitive as possible, but Golden State can also put together a reasonable package that retains Butler.
The Warriors' ideal package for Antetokounmpo might include Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and a large assortment of future draft capital and more young players such as Brandin Podziemski and/or Moses Moody.
A combination of Antetokounmpo, Curry and Butler would quickly rise to the best trio in the league, particularly if Golden State can provide enough shooting elsewhere to alleviate the very slight concern stemming from a lack of spacing between Antetokounmpo and Butler.
Part of the reason it would likely become the best trio in the league is because with today's CBA, it's very rare to have three players making over $50 million per season. The Phoenix Suns provide a cautionary tale of why that doesn't work, but the Warriors shouldn't be overly concerned with that given this trio would be at a whole new level of stardom, not to mention both Curry and Butler only have one more year left on their deals anyway and could take a pay cut beyond that.
It's not to say the Warriors would instantly become championship favorites -- the Oklahoma City Thunder deserve more respect than that. It would bring some potentially tantalizing playoff matchups, particularly given the strength of the West with teams like the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets beyond the Thunder.
If the Warriors get a chance to pitch to Antetokounmpo and his agent in the coming weeks, using the idea of a trio with he, Curry and Butler should be top of the agenda as they look to outbid a host of rival teams interested in the 2x MVP.