The Golden State Warriors have made zero moves in free agency or on the trade market this summer, but that doesn’t mean they’re asleep.
The franchise is quietly keeping their assets intact for one massive possibility: a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, one Athletic reporter says.
“There’s another reason why the Warriors don’t want to give Kuminga away for less than his full trade value,” The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami wrote. “Like every other smart team, they’re trying to maintain every asset they’ve got so they’re ready once and if the Giannis Antetokounmpo market heats up.”
The Warriors don’t want to give Jonathan Kuminga away for less than his full trade value because they’re trying to maintain every asset they’ve got if the Giannis Antetokounmpo market heats up, per @timkawakami
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The team’s standoff with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga is reportedly part of that broader strategy. Despite little progress in negotiations and rising tension between both sides, Golden State has avoided making a hasty move.
“Kuminga’s situation has been very drawn out, and there is no end in sight,” Logan Struck of Sports Illustrated added. “But the Warriors are playing it close to the chest for one huge reason.”
That reason is the faint chance that Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP and generational superstar, decides it’s time to move on from Milwaukee.
“That doesn’t mean the Warriors expect Giannis to ask to leave the Bucks or that they expect him to signal that the Bay Area is his preferred destination,” Kawakami continued. “…But the possibility exists that Giannis could want out and could tell the Bucks that they should trade him to the Warriors.”
Antetokounmpo, is still in his prime and coming off another All-NBA season. While there’s been no official indication he wants out, Golden State clearly isn’t taking any chances.
No signings, no trades, just patience. All in case the biggest domino in the world of basketball suddenly falls.
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