The Warriors’ trade proposal with the Bucks combines Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry

The NBA is an endless soap opera, and Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes its biggest starat least for these next few episodes. Antetokounmpo, amid the Milwaukee Bucks’ struggles that currently have them in 10th place in the East despite an impressive 113-109 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, has reportedly expressed some displeasure with his situation in Milwaukee and may want to give him another shot at a better title that would give him a shot at a title.

Now, it’s not entirely clear if it is The Golden State Warriors can give Antetokounmpo that chance. But the Warriors have been linked to Antetokounmpo for so long that it’s hard to ignore the connections between the two sides. It’s also no secret that Antetokounmpo likes Stephen Curry, so even with the Dubs having a tough time with injuries lately, there’s a chance Antetokounmpo could include the Dubs in his preferred destinations if he does go through with a trade request.

Currently, the Warriors are 11-12 after their brutal crunch time loss to the Philadelphia 76ers; they were brave without Curry and Jimmy Butler, the latter of whom left Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and they just might 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 Bucks’ list of preferred trade destinations, and here’s why.

The Warriors are trying to put together a viable trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Warriors trade: Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, 2026, 2028, 2032 GSV first round pick, 2027, 2029 and 2031 GSV first round pick swaps

Bucks trade: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, Taurean Prince

(This trade is legal on January 15, 2026)

The Bucks would like to get the following in any Antetokounmpo trade: a boatload of first-round picks (preferably from a desperately aging team), a rising young 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 the youth movement.

Milwaukee is out of control of their first-round picks from 2026 to 2030, as they still owe the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers several trade picks thanks to the Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard trades, respectively. This will prevent them from possibly going all-in at the bottom, requiring them to remain semi-competitive for at least the next few seasons until their draft-pick obligations until the end of other teams.

To that end, this trade package from the Warriors won’t meet all of the Bucks’ expected demands in any Antetokounmpo deal.

there is there’s no way the Warriors would want to trade Butler in any deal with Antetokounmpo. It hasn’t even been a year since Butler arrived in the Bay, and he’s a certified playoff performer, filling in the gaps, doing whatever the team needs as a secondary star. They also re-signed him to a huge contract extension, which shows their faith in him.

This will then require any Warriors trade package to start with Draymond Green. Green remains one of the best defensemen in the association, and he’s a future Hall of Famer for all his contributions to the Dubs dynasty over the years. He’s the key to unlocking some of the Warriors’ best lineups, as he gives the team the ability to play fast and play small without sacrificing anything defensively.

But Green isn’t a factor in the offense these days if he’s not passing the basketball. With Butler operating as a playmaking center, the Warriors need his offensive contributions less than ever. And if the Dubs can land Antetokounmpo, he’ll be even less needed on the defensive end, though it’s tempting 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 unclear whether 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 really require moving Green, then it’s a no-brainer.

Antetokounmpo may be dealing with some injury issues right now, (he’ll be out at least two to four weeks), but this is a man who’s averaging 30-11-6 like nobody’s business. And he’s just about to turn 31, so he’s not in danger of a sudden decline anytime soon.

The The Warriors may have been hesitant to trade their valuable young guys in deals like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, but those two are nowhere near the superstar caliber of Antetokounmpo. 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 even sniffed All-Star thought.

Kuminga did his best at 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 unlikely he ever will be. He, too, is dealing with injury problems, and hasn’t been a key cog in any of head coach Steve Kerr’s lineups since his return.

Moody is a 3-and-D wing who can catch fire on a nightly basis, but his lack of consistency and production without rebounds makes it seem like his hard ceiling is to be a player on a winning team — a good player for the Dubs after any trade for Giannis, but ultimately doesn’t make him valuable enough if any trade were valuable enough.

Podziemski is in his third season, and every year he makes small steps with his goals and playmaking. But even with the Warriors needing another huge scoring option, he hasn’t been able to step up. Kerr’s confidence in him seems to fluctuate from game to game, and that doesn’t indicate someone any team would want to keep around for the long haul — especially if trading him would help kill Antokounmpo.

Warriors fans can overrate the team’s young players all they want. But the numbers don’t lie. Even with the inclusion of those young players, the Dubs will need to include all of their first-round picks in an unprotected fashion — that’s simply how much they’d need to separate Antetokounmpo from the Bucks, and even then, it might not be enough.

They can offer three first-round picks and three trade picks, and could be particularly juicy picks in 2029, 2031 and 2032. But betting on draft picks is a risky game, and it may not be one the Bucks want to play right now.

It’s important to note that the Warriors are acquiring Antetokounmpo, a perennial All-NBA first teamer, top-5 superstar in the league and NBA champion. The trade for him will not be cheap. This is a high price to pay, and it may not even be the best trade package the Bucks can get on the market.

Antetokounmpo’s contract may expire in 2027, but this scenario assumes he signs an extension with the Warriors.

The Dubs also get two solid players in the rotation in Cole Anthony and Taurean Prince, so they can at least put together a starting lineup of Curry, DeAnthony Melton, Butler, Antetokounmpo and Al Horford, along with Buddy Hield, Anthony, Prince, Will Richard, Peyton II and Gary Post, and Seth. That should be a solid enough team for the Dubs, and having three stars would make them a force to be reckoned with.