Warriors fans can cling to long-held trade hope as playoff run sputters

The Warriors’ playoff hopes look dim after losing Game 4 of their second-round series with the Timberwolves amid a third-quarter avalanche that included a scoreless spell of nearly five minutes.

Steph Curry is injured and doesn’t expect to play in Wednesday’s Game 5, he told ESPN’s Marc Spears. Jimmy Butler was sick Monday night and may still be dealing with the effects of a glute injury suffered three weeks ago.

But, as ever, there’s a ray of hope in the Golden State.

The Warriors are one of 29 teams who would like to trade for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is “open-minded” this offseason about the possibility of a future outside of Milwaukee, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.

Golden State has long been linked to the Greek superstar because of owner Joe Lacob’s devotion to pursuing star players and Antetokounmpo’s apparent bond with Steph Curry. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Antetokounmpo made a late-night appearance at Curry’s Warriors-centric party during All-Star weekend in the Bay Area.

The Bucks are between a rock and a hard place: They used future assets to acquire Jrue Holiday, who helped them win the 2021 NBA Finals, then used Holiday and more assets to acquire Oakland native Damian Lillard. The on-court fit between Lillard and Antetokounmpo was rockier than expected over Lillard’s first two seasons as a Buck, and then he tore his Achilles during Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series with the Pacers.

Lillard will presumably miss all of next season and attempt to return for the 2026-27 season at age 36, an uphill challenge for a small guard.

Antetokounmpo has three years and roughly $175 million remaining on his contract, which will be finalized by the league’s salary cap. The simplest (and maybe only) way for the Warriors to match his deal would be to include Butler, who signed a two-year, $111 million extension upon arriving.

This isn’t to suggest the Warriors should rush to send off Butler, who by all indications saved their floundering season when he arrived in February. But if they are presented with a chance to acquire a two-time MVP still in his prime, the Warriors will have to part with important pieces of their team.

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Milwaukee will also require more than a single-player swap, so the Warriors could include the rights to sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga plus multiple draft picks in an offer. They traded their 2025 first-round pick to Miami to acquire Butler, but own their first-rounders from 2026-2030 and could trade two of the four. (Their 2030 pick will go to Washington if it lands below No. 19 thanks to the Chris Paul-Jordan Poole deal.)

There are plenty of reasons to believe Milwaukee wouldn’t go for such an offer: Butler doesn’t exactly fit a rebuild timeline (and an unhappy Butler has made waves before), and spinning his sizable contract off to another team would likely prove difficult.

There are teams with young talent and more future draft picks in Oklahoma City, Houston and San Antonio who can make the Bucks a stronger offer. But if the Warriors’ and Antetokounmpo’s long-reported mutual interest is true, they’d have a long-shot chance … and Warriors fans know how Curry handles long shots.