Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris believes the stars are aligning for Giannis Antetokounmpo to join the Golden State Warriors.
When asked to predict Antetokounmpo’s next team, Morris picked the Warriors.
“The Warriors,” Morris responded on ESPN’s “Get Up” on May 26.
“You have Jonathan Kuminga, who is due for a big payday. You can think back to the Warriors when they had KD [Kevin Durant], Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson] and Draymond [Green] all on the same team.
“This is something that’s intriguing, because you obviously can give Kuminga the max, trade him to Milwaukee, and just move some pieces around to make it fit.
“You’ve got to go for it,” Morris urged the Warriors.
His twin, Marcus Morris, explained why the Warriors needed to “maximize” Stephen Curry’s championship window before it was too late.
Playoffs Could Determine Next Home
“Steph’s window is small. You have to maximize his window right now,” he said.
Markieff also acknowledged that the 2025 NBA playoffs could ultimately determine where the “Greek Freak” ends up in the 2025-26 season. Morris believes that if the Thunder, embroiled in a Western Conference Finals series against the Timberwolves, fail to win it all, they could consider trading for Antetokounmpo.
“You have an OKC team that’s right about there to get over the hump,” he said. “They have the pieces — you can blow the whole thing up in Milwaukee and take a boat load of pieces [from the Thunder] and basically start over. As Thunder, you basically match up SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] with Giannis and go from there.”
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jay Williams explained why Curry and Antetokounmpo’s unique skill sets would complement each other perfectly.
‘Intriguing’ Giannis-Steph Partnership
“Just think about it from a basketball perspective,” Williams said. “Think about how complementary Steph and Giannis would be together. [Giannis] is somebody who can get rebounds, push the pace, and there’s always floor spacing. Those two in pick and rolls? I mean, that just seems like the most powerful duo that could be in the league.”
While the Warriors don’t have draft assets such as the Rockets, Thunder or Nets, the team linked with Antetokounmpo, they have the big-market appeal. Furthermore, Antetokounmpo and Curry are said to be close friends who routinely work out together in the offseason. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, there is “a pathway” for Antetokounmpo to join the Warriors, but only if he makes his desires known.
“The Lakers or the Warriors couldn’t win a bidding war if the market’s open — no way they could win a bidding war,” Windhorst told “The Dan Patrick Show” on May 19.
“If Giannis went in and said, ‘I want to be with Steph Curry. That’s who I want to play with.’ Is there a deal that could happen between those two teams? Yes.”
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bucks have yet to make Giannis Antetokounmpo available in trade talks, and are hopeful to convince their longtime franchise star to stay put.
“There were no apparent breakthrough developments last week for the many factions around the league hoping for a firm indication about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee,” Stein wrote in his newsletter on May 25.
