Giannis Antetokounmpo to Warriors? ESPN Analyst’s Trade Pitch
Given their chest of assets, teams such as the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder have been earmarked as favorites to complete a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
However, ESPN’s Jay Williams strongly believes the Golden State Warriors are being overlooked as a landing spot for the “Greek Freak.” Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take” on May 12, Williams made the case for the Warriors to use Jimmy Butler’s contract to land Antetokounmpo.
“Everyone’s been talking about the Houston Rockets and San Antonio,” Williams said. “I’ll throw out another team — I just wouldn’t discount Golden State and Stephen Curry. I think assets-wise, they can have it. You can package Jimmy Butler.
“Just understanding how Giannis has had a proclivity for Steph Curry before, how they can play [together], how you can keep that [title] window open for both — I just think it’s an interesting team to talk about that nobody is really talking about.”
Potential Warriors Trade Package
To Williams’ point, the Warriors could use Butler’s $54.1 million salary while attaching assets such as Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody to entice the Bucks. Furthermore, the Warriors have at least two tradeable firsts.
Kuminga’s future with the Warriors remains uncertain beyond the 2024-25 season. The fourth-year forward will be a restricted free agent in the 2025 offseason, but the Warriors will have the right to match any and all offer sheets he may receive.
In Kuminga, the Bucks may have their young franchise star to build the team around, with Butler as the transitionary locker room leader to mentor the Congolese youngster.
As Williams highlighted, Antetokounmpo and Curry have long expressed their fondness for one another, even suggesting they could play together at some point.
Giannis and Steph’s Friendship
Back in September 2022, Antetokounmpo turned heads when he said he was “jealous” of Curry and the Warriors after they captured the 2022 NBA championship.
“I believe the best player in the world is Steph Curry,” Antetokounmpo said, via ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “The feeling I felt, it was a nice feeling [watching Warriors win]. I got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and the ESPYs. You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you.”
In response, Curry repaid the compliment.
“I would say the same thing when you’re facing the champions,” Curry said of Giannis. “That’s part of like the nature of the league. We all want to win the championship, and when you look at the team that’s the last team standing and who was playing the best, I was thinking the same thing about him last year, coming off their run.”
Multiple insiders have said that the Warriors have long desired Antetokounmpo. After the Bucks were ousted from the 2025 NBA playoffs, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley made a case for a Warriors-Antetokounmpo pairing.
“Antetokounmpo has fascinated this franchise for years, and he might have reasons to look around if Milwaukee, which has one series win to show for the past three seasons, can’t reverse its playoff misfortune,” wrote Buckley.
