Warriors insider ‘pours cold water’ on ‘hot’ Giannis trade speculation

Giannis Antetokounmpo may be in the trade rumor millbut the Milwaukee Bucks superstardom may not be destined for the Bay Area.

Despite that Golden State Warriors often being named as a potential landing spot for AntetokounmpoESPN’s Anthony Slater has heard less than optimistic things about the possibility of that arrival in fertility.

“I talked to the Warriors people after that — because, you know, the league talked about Shems’ story and the revelations after that — and they put cold water on the idea that they were some, like, hot Giannino destination,” Slater said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast. “But I will also say that they kind of poured cold water on the Jimmy Butler idea around this time last year.

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A few months after Slater said he heard the Warriors were trying to trade for Butler, then a particularly unhappy member of the Miami Heat, Golden State traded for Butler which included sending Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroeder, Linda Waters and a 2025 first-round draft pick to Miami.

Whether the same will happen with Antetokounmpo remains to be seen, though replacing the two-time MVP and 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP will undoubtedly be much more difficult than acquiring the aging and often struggling Butler.

For one thing, to trade for Antetokounmpo during the season, the Warriors would have to send either Butler or Draymond Green to a contract because of Antetokounmpo’s $54.1 million salary. And, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPointsthey are not too interested in it.

“There is no clear path to the Warriors potentially chasing the Bucks star, as that would almost certainly require them to move Butler or Green for cap reasons,” Siegel wrote. “Golden State will not move a single star, barring a seismic event or change.”

Then again, the Warriors reversed course last season, when they started the year 12-3 and then slumped. After acquiring Butler, Golden State finished the season 23-8and in the first round of the playoffs they upset the second-seeded Houston Rockets despite an injury to Butler.

In the Eastern Conference, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the postseason for the third year in a row.

The Warriors and Bucks will meet for the first time on October 30.