The Golden State Warriors are among the few teams expected to monitor Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s developing situation with the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN reported.
A few preliminary teams, who, at the very least, will be watching this situation closely, could include the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, according to Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne during a recent episode of the Lowe Post podcast. Each of those teams has a combination of intriguing young players and valuable draft picks available that could be packaged in the kind of trade it would theoretically take to land Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo recently doubled down on his ultimatum to the Bucks to keep their title window open, or else he bolt out for a better situation elsewhere.
The extension-eligible Antetokounmpo is deferring his decision to next summer when he could sign a more lucrative deal to stay in Milwaukee or enter the final year of his current supermax contract. That will all depend on how the Bucks perform this season.
According to Shelburne, the Warriors have Stephen Curry, who can draw the Greek Freak to the Bay Area if Antetokounmpo seeks a future outside Milwaukee.
“I would say the Warriors just because there’s obviously a relationship with him and Steph Curry,” Shelburne said on the “Lowe Post” podcast. “They’ve known each other, and there’s a synergy there, but I don’t know how they would get that done or how those timelines match up, but that that’s an interesting one to bring up as well.”
Lowe said Antetokounmpo doesn’t care about timelines.
Curry and Antetokounmpo have always picked each other when they were named captains in the NBA All-Star Game.
However, the biggest obstacle for the Warriors is their lack of draft capital, which teams like the Knicks or Nets possess.
The Warriors have already traded a 2030 top-20 protected pick to the Washington Wizards in the Jordan Poole–Chris Paul deal.
Dwight Howard Posts Cryptic Tweet After Failed Warriors Tryout
Dwight Howard posted a cryptic tweet after The Athletic reported the Golden State Warriors are not signing him following his two-way workout and meeting with them.
“Only as a WARRIOR can one withstand the path of knowledge. A WARRIOR cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge. And challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges. Go be [Great] [emojis],” Howard said in his post on X (formerly Twitter).
The Warriors’ top priority is to add an extra wing, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. They have worked out several veteran wings before Howard’s tryout. Among them were former reserves Juan Toscano-Anderson and Kent Bazemore, former Denver Nugget Will Barton, Jaylen Nowell, Stanley Johnson, Tony Snell and Trey Burke.
Ex-Warriors Big Man Bids NBA Comeback via Pacers
Former Warriors big man Jordan Bell signed a training camp deal with the Indiana Pacers, according to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto.
Bell is expected to play for the Pacers’ G League affiliate Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
The 28-year-old journeyman spent his first two seasons in the NBA with the Warriors after they selected him in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. As a rookie, he won a championship with the Warriors, averaging 4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 57 games, including 13 starts. He could not make a fitting follow-up to his promising rookie season and soon found himself bouncing around the league.
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Warriors Monitoring Potential Stephen Curry Co-Star