SAN FRANCISCO – The potential for immediate reward if everything breaks right weighed against the risk of burning any potential for success in the distant future is what the Warriors are facing as they contemplate a deal for Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s a dilemma general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. must consider as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches.
Multiple outlets have reported that the Bucks are intrigued by the Warriors’ possible trade package centered around the embattled Jonathan Kuminga, injured Jimmy Butler’s contract and a boatload – no, a Noah’s Ark – of franchise-rebuilding future draft picks.
On the surface, bringing a Top 30 player of all time in Antetokounmpo still in his prime at 31 and pairing him with Steph Curry seems like a no-brainer.
Even if Antetokounmpo is sidelined for the next few weeks with a calf injury, he will eventually bring 28 points and 10 rebounds per game to the floor while being a rim-rattling presence the team has not had since Wilt Chamberlain.
“I think if we’re talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph isn’t here, it’s gonna have to be a player we think we’ll be getting back that is gonna be here when those picks are going out,” Dunleavy said on Jan. 20, the day after Butler tore his ACL. “If there’s a great player to be had, we’ve got everything in the war chest that we would be willing to use.”
Such a one-two force would make the Warriors a contender to beat any team in a playoff series, something that seemed implausible a couple of weeks ago when Butler tore his ACL.
The Warriors would likely have two of the three best players in any series in 2026 and possibly 2027, too, which is the last year of Curry’s contract.
So why would the Warriors, perhaps, be wise to not make that deal?
Well, there is the fact that for all of Antetokounmpo’s incredible talents and success, the nine-time All-NBA selection and two-time MVP has played in at least 70 games in one of the past six seasons, and could be hampered with a calf injury for the rest of the year.
Then there is the matter of all of those draft picks the Warriors would be sending out.
The 2029 and 2030 drafts sound far away now, but when Curry is retired and Antetokounmpo is pushing 35, not having young and cheap talent available every offseason to replenish the roster would sting.
And if the hypotheticals are not enough to dissuade, history is littered with teams trading away their future for immediate glories, seeing their plans implode, and being left with a ruinous future that becomes a hopeless present while another team reaps the benefits.
The two most recent NBA champions have been built by being the beneficiaries of misguided ambition.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)With the Russell Westbrook and Paul George era in Oklahoma City stuck on a treadmill of early-round exits, Oklahoma City shipped George out to the Clippers, who also acquired reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard that same offseason.
The Clippers threw in promising guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a nice piece but unnecessary with two generational wings now on the roster, and five first round picks and two pick swaps swaps.
The prevailing sentiment at the time was that with two in-their-prime Hall of Famers leading the way, those Clippers first rounders would be late selections.
Instead, those Clippers never made it out of the second round.
On the other side, the Thunder patiently rebuilt, used the 2022 Clippers pick on All-Star Jalen Williams, and watched as Gilgeous-Alexander turned into a scoring champion and a MVP that led the squad to the 2025 title.
The league-leading Thunder still have Los Angeles’ 2026 first round pick … which could end up in the lottery after the team traded away George and Leonard has struggled to stay on the court.
Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics holds up the Larry O'Brien trophy after Boston's 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Then there is the tale of the 2024 champion Celtics, whose foundation was laid 11 years prior with a trade that will forever live in NBA infamy.
The Celtics shipped off aging mid-30s stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets in exchange for a bundle of tradable contracts and the Nets’ 2014, 2016 and 2018 draft picks, while giving Boston a chance to swap their 2017 picks if the Nets’ selection was higher.
The 2016 selection ended up being Jaylen Brown at No. 3 overall, and the 2017 selection was Jayson Tatum at that same draft spot.
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That duo powered the Celtics to a loss to the Warriors in the 2022 Finals, and a victory over the Mavericks in the 2024 Finals, and should be contenders again once Tatum recovers from his Achilles injury.
Meanwhile, the Nets decided once was not enough, and sent the Rockets six draft picks/pick swaps between 2021-27 to get James Harden. The final verdict on that trade has yet to be determined, but the Nets did trade Harden to the Sixers after just two years.
Though the allure of adding a superstar to the roster and ignoring the future can seem appealing, Dunleavy might be wise to look at the past when considering torpedoing the future for Antetokounmpo.
After all, that distant future can quickly turn into another team’s present fortune.
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