The NBA is a never-ending soap opera, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is becoming its biggest star, at least for these next few episodes. Antetokounmpo, amid the Milwaukee Bucks' struggles that has them currently in the 10th place in the East despite their impressive 113-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, has reportedly expressed some discontent with his situation in Milwaukee and may be angling for a move to a team that would give him a better chance at winning another title.
Now, it's not quite clear whether the Golden State Warriors can give Antetokounmpo that chance. But the Warriors have been linked with Antetokounmpo for so long that it's hard to ignore the links between the two parties. It's also not a secret that Antetokounmpo is fond of Stephen Curry, so even with the Dubs having a rough go as of late amid their injury woes, there's a chance that Antetokounmpo includes the Dubs in his preferred destinations should he actually push through with a trade request.
At present, the Warriors have an 11-12 record following their brutal loss in crunch time against the Philadelphia 76ers; they have been plucky without Curry and Jimmy Butler, with the latter exiting their game on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and they simply may need a piece of Antetokounmpo's caliber to make them a legitimate threat in a conference filled with them.
But the Warriors will be so far down the list of the Bucks' preferred trade destinations, and here's why.
Warriors try to put together viable trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Warriors trade: Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, 2026, 2028, 2032 GSW first-round pick, 2027, 2029, and 2031 GSW first-round pick swaps
Bucks trade: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, Taurean Prince
(This trade is legal on January 15, 2026.)
The Bucks would want to get the following in any Antetokounmpo trade: a boatload of first-round picks (preferably from a desperate aging team), a young rising star who could potentially take the mantle from the Greek Freak, and a few more young pieces to round out the roster in preparation for a youth movement.
Milwaukee does not control its first-round picks from 2026 to 2030, as they still owe the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers a few pick swaps courtesy of the Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard trades, respectively. This will prevent them from perhaps going all-in on bottoming out, requiring them to remain semi-competitive for at least the next few seasons until their draft-pick obligations to other teams end.
To that end, this trade package from the Warriors will not be meeting all of those expected requirements from the Bucks in any Antetokounmpo deal.
There is no way that the Warriors would want to trade Butler in any Antetokounmpo deal. It hasn't even been a year since Butler arrived in the Bay, and he's a certified playoff riser, a fill-in-the-gaps, does everything the team needs type of secondary star. They also re-signed him to a huge contract extension, which is indicative of their belief in him.
This will then require any Warriors trade package to begin with Draymond Green. Green remains one of the best defenders in the association, and he's a future Hall of Famer for all his contributions to the Dubs' dynasty over the years. He's a key to unlocking some of the Warriors' best lineups, as he provides the team with the ability to play fast and play small without sacrificing anything on the defensive end.
But Green is a non-factor on offense these days if he isn't passing the basketball. With Butler around to function as a playmaking hub, the Warriors are in less need of his contributions on offense than ever. And if the Dubs manage to bring in Antetokounmpo, he'll even be less needed defensively, although it is enticing to think what a defensive frontcourt of Antetokounmpo and Green would be capable of.
Green is an important figure in Warriors history, so it's not clear if the Dubs would even be willing to pull the trigger on any trade that would require sending him away. But at this point, if trading for Antetokounmpo would indeed require dealing Green away, then it's a no-brainer.
Antetokounmpo may be facing some injury problems at present, (he'll be out two to four weeks at minimum) but this is a man who averages 30-11-6 like it's nobody's business. He's only about to turn 31 years of age as well, so he's not in danger of a steep decline anytime soon.
The Warriors may have been hesitant to trade their valuable young guys in deals for the likes of Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, but those two are nowhere close the caliber of superstar Antetokounmpo is. Trading not just one, but all of them (Kuminga, Podziemski, Moody) is the bare minimum the Bucks will be asking for, especially when none of those players are even sniffing All-Star consideration.
Kuminga tried his best towards the start of the 2025-26 season, but he hasn't been a good fit in the Warriors' system, and at this point, it's not likely he'll ever be. He's been facing injury problems as well, and since returning, he hasn't been a key cog in any of head coach Steve Kerr's lineups.
Moody is a 3-and-D wing who can catch fire on any given night, but his lack of consistency and off-the-bounce production makes it seem as though his hard ceiling is to be a role player on a winning team — a good player for the Dubs to have in the aftermath of any Giannis trade, but ultimately doesn't make him valuable enough to keep if any trade would require his inclusion.
Podziemski is in his third season, and he's been making little strides year after year with his scoring and playmaking. But even with the Warriors in need of another huge scoring option, he has failed to step up. Kerr's trust in him seems to be varying from game to game, and that's not indicative of someone any team would want to keep for the long haul — especially if trading him away would help net Antokounmpo.
Warriors fans can overvalue the team's young players all they want. But the numbers don't lie. And even with the inclusion of those young players, the Dubs will have to include all their tradeable first-round picks in unprotected fashion — that's simply how much it would take for them to pry Antetokounmpo away from the Bucks, and even then, that might not be enough.
They can offer three first-round picks and three pick swaps, and the picks in 2029, 2031, and 2032, in particular, could be juicy. But betting on draft picks is a risky game, and it may not be a game the Bucks would want to play right now.
It's important to note that the Warriors are acquiring Antetokounmpo, a perennial All-NBA First Team player, a top-five superstar in the league, and an NBA champion. A trade for him is not going to come cheap. This is a heavy price to pay, and it may not even be the best trade package the Bucks can get on the market.
Antetokounmpo's contract may be expiring in 2027, but this scenario presumes that he'll be signing an extension with the Warriors moving forward.
The Dubs are getting two serviceable rotation players as well in Cole Anthony and Taurean Prince, so they can at least cobble together a starting lineup consisting of Curry, De'Anthony Melton, Butler, Antetokounmpo, and Al Horford, with the likes of Buddy Hield, Anthony, Prince, Will Richard, Quinten Post, Gary Payton II, and Seth Curry to come off the bench. That should be a solid enough team for the Dubs, and having three stars would make them a force to be reckoned with.
