What happens if the Warriors don’t win the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes?

SAN FRANCISCO – Given where are the golden state warriors right noweverything seems to depend on them by acquiring Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

When you add it all up — where Stephen Curry is in his career, Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL injury, the middle roster the Dubs are currently rocking, and Steve Kerr’s uncertain future as the team’s head coach — Antetokounmpo feels like the only thing that can save what feels like the last days of a sinking dynasty.

But what happens if the unthinkable happens? What happens if the Warriors land Antetokounmpo at the deadline? What happens to this team, this team that is barely clinging to relevance while Curry continues to age by the day, if all they can do is watch Greek Freak in a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey? What’s left of this season if Antetokounmpo ends up bending the heat culture? Playing for glory? An honorable 1-8 loss to the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder?

The cold, dark, nihilistic reality of not winning the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes is that the season becomes empty and hollow. As the Warriors’ roster currently stands, they have no chance to reasonably compete, no matter how much Kerr values ​​their depth. Even if they can keep the lights on and the ship afloat long enough to make the playoffs and possibly the playoffs, that bottom line isn’t enough for Golden State.

Because that end result is the equivalent of basketball purgatory. In the mix enough to pretend to be competitive but not actually going anywhere, and far enough away from the lottery to not get a decent pick in a loaded draft.

In the timeline where you acquire Antetokounmpo, you fulfill Curry and Kerr’s simple wish to simply have a chance – to open a window sill. But in a timeline where you don’t, you’re left with an organization whose only direction is for Curry to play out his final years in farewell mediocrity not too dissimilar to how Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki ended up.

That’s the reality of losing the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

How the Warriors found themselves counting on Giannis to save them

Who is to blame for this trouble? Whose fingerprints are on the indictment that the Warriors would have to write off Antetokounmpo?

You can certainly point to how their lottery picks shook out. Johnthan Cumminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman, a valuable second line the Warriors wanted to develop, did very little in the grand scheme of helping Curry fight for a fifth title. Especially considering the guys they could have taken instead, with Tyrese Halliburton, Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun and Trey Murphy III leading the turnovers.

But every team lacks draft picks, such things are a regular occurrence in the NBA. Maybe asset management brought them to this crossroads? In their hopes of developing their young core into stars, and that hope rests primarily on Cummings’ shoulders, the Warriors must have lost value in what were once intriguing trade chips.

There was a maaaaay potential deal with Pascal Siakam in the works if they brought in Cumminga. And the inability to turn Jordan Poole’s likely overpaid contract into anything definitely hurts. People also tend to show their reluctance to unload war items for Lauri Markkanen as a sorely missed opportunity. But ultimately, other than the Butler trade they decided to make, has there ever really been a trade that could have prevented where they are now?

Maybe the Warriors find themselves here because that’s exactly what happens to dynasties at the end of their runs. Of course, looking back, they messed up at some key moments. But age and time tend to win out no matter what. That contributed to Butler’s devastating injury. That’s what created their latest “what if” when Curry was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the conference semifinals against the T-Wolves.

The end is rarely pretty in basketball and is always inevitable. Perhaps the Warriors simply found themselves in a battle they couldn’t win.

Are there other trades other than Giannis that can save their season?

Is there a pivot the Warriors can make if Antetokounmpo lands at No. 2? Potentially.

It always exists backup Murphy III or Michael Porter Jr. trade they can convince themselves that they will help save this season. And maybe there’s an Anthony Davis route they can take, if they’re feeling adventurous and edgy. But in the end, anything short of Greek Freak turns this season into… a lot of blah.

This season is becoming a “let’s rehabilitate the value of Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski” mission. This season is becoming, let’s give Curry more weeks to heal from an injury that he would otherwise struggle to survive if his team had a chance. Dumping Antetokounmpo means a debate between trying to get or go home nine-ten in a game or playing the lottery. And of course, even if they get Antetokounmpo, their destiny this season is tournament play and/or OKC cannon fodder.

But at least in that scenario they are extending the runway for Curry. Again, all Kari wants is a chance. All he wants is a real chance to fight. Curry running around without Butler, without another superstar, isn’t enough to give them that chance. We’ve already seen Curry wear him down carrying the load on his own. Patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as “runner’s knee,” is an old man’s overuse injury.

And the Warriors can still win the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. By all accounts and reporting, they remain on the hunt. That’s how valuable their picks are after Curry. But a dark and depressing reality awaits them there if they can’t get it out. Golden State is in perhaps the most important moment of the Curry era. With the trade deadline looming, we’ll soon find out if they can keep this wagon rolling.