NBA Rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo Should Be GSW’s ‘No. 1 Target’ In 2020 Offseason, Says Kevin O’Connor
After five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and winning three NBA championship titles, the Golden State Warriors are set to miss the playoffs in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, instead of undergoing a rebuilding process this summer, the Warriors are highly expected to find ways that would enable them to immediately return to title contention next year. Aside from making sure that their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green would return to their 100 percent health, rumors are circulating that the Warriors will be searching for their fourth superstar in the 2020 NBA offseason.
In the past months, the Warriors have already been linked to several NBA superstars who are expected to be available on the trade market this summer, including reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. In a recent Zoom conversation with NBC Sports Bay Area, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer said that Antetokounmpo should be the Warriors’ “No. 1 target” in the 2020 NBA offseason.
“That’s the No. 1 target of course,” O’Connor said, referring to Antetokounmpo. “People say, ‘How would you get Giannis?’ Well, you have multiple salaries — (Andrew) Wiggins or Draymond (Green) — that you could move. You could move your first (round draft pick) this year and that very appealing Minnesota (first-round) pick next year. But that’s — of course — a pipe dream. But a dream nonetheless and it’s worth pursuing.”
With the current trade assets they have, the Warriors are undeniably in a strong position to engage in a blockbuster deal this summer. In the potential deal that would bring Antetokounmpo to Golden State, O’Connor suggested that the Warriors could use the contract of Andrew Wiggins or Green for salary-matching purposes and their own 2020 first-round pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2021 first-round pick to sweeten the deal. The proposed trade package would give the Bucks the option to remain competitive in the post-Antetokounmpo era or undergo a full-scale rebuild.
However, in the blockbuster deal involving Antetokounmpo, the question isn’t the trade assets that the Warriors could offer, but the Bucks’ willingness to part ways with the face of the franchise. No matter the outcome of the 2019-20 NBA season will be, the Bucks are highly expected to offer Antetokounmpo a massive contract extension that would prevent him from entering the free agency market in the summer of 2021. Antetokounmpo still hasn’t given an assurance whether he plans to sign an extension with the Bucks or not, but he has already said on numerous occasions that he wants to finish his NBA career in Milwaukee.
