A temptation to be resisted
Trading for Giannis sounds great, but ...
Not so long ago, the Warriors built an NBA dynasty on the strength of three homegrown players who came to typify the essence of innovation, teamwork and winning. In Golden State they remain, with some prime years left and a passion to restore their lofty status.
If the Warriors aren’t careful this offseason, it all goes away.
Any team would look into the possibility of acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo, without even blinking. “Get him in here, whatever it takes,” would be the first instinct. Maybe that’s exactly how Warriors management thinks, with an eye on the future, not living in the past.
It doesn’t play in this corner, and that’s no knock on Giannis.
The likely cost of this endeavor would be Klay Thompson — not to mention firstround picks into eternity — and I’m sorry, but that’s too high a price.
Flipside observers would argue it this way: Remember 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, who believed in unloading elite talent before its decline. Remember how the Giants, swelled with success, gave out those longterm contracts to players not worth such deep commitment.
This is different, though. The big decisions have already been made: Stephen Curry signed up for two more seasons, Thompson and Draymond Green through 202324. The idea was
to keep this going, because it was magical, a brand of play not only envied by every team in the league, but unstoppable when everyone was healthy.
Could it all go wrong? Sure, if you’re a Negative Ned. More injuries for Curry, signs that Thompson isn’t all the way back from ACL surgery, Green losing a step and never again finding his shot. The coming season might not be much fun if the pandemic persists and the games unfold in an empty Chase Center.
You get the feeling, though, that the Warriors’ Big Three cannot wait to get back together and dominate. The Western Conference playoffs have been a delight to watch, but let’s not hear the Warriors ranked below
any of these teams as far as potential over the next three seasons — especially if they draft or trade well, with this year’s No. 2 overall pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ lightly protected firstround pick next year.
This whole debate could vanish in a matter of weeks. The Bucks are working hard on Giannis right now, promising a longabsent venture into the luxury tax and dangling that fiveyear, $220 million extension in front of their franchise player. They desperately need a roster upgrade, and a trade for Chris Paul (definitely on the table) could give the team an entirely new look next season.
If Giannis says bailing out of Milwaukee is “not happening,” as he boldly stated after the Bucks were eliminated, I believe him. But let’s say he rejects the extension, shows no interest in playing out his final season in Milwaukee and demands a trade.
That’s where the Warriors come in. They wouldn’t have the salarycap room to sign him as a free agent in 2021; just rule that out. But they could work a signandtrade deal that by most accounts would cost them Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, both of the abovementioned draft picks and at least two of their future firstround selections. That’s if the Bucks would even agree to a trade.
We’re always open to suggestions here, and we pay attention to those in the know. On a recent Warriors podcast, joined by Wes Goldberg of the Mercury News, The Sporting Green’s Connor Letourneau argued that it would be worth giving up Thompson and Green. “Tears would be shed in the front office,” he said, “because there’s a human element to this, players who have meant so much on a personal level to the organization. But at the end of the day, it’s a business. It’s all about getting better. They have to do what they have to do.”
To embrace such radical thought, consider that Giannis is the best defensive player in the league, a fearsome shotblocker who can guard any position. Not only can he play center — a perfect call for the Warriors — the analytics show excellent numbers across the board when he played that position in Milwaukee. When he takes the ball in flight, the defense becomes irrelevant; he has the handle, spin moves, length and stride (seems like he covers 20 feet in two steps) to throw down a vicious dunk with either hand.
He is far from a complete player, though. The Bucks got stuck, like an old truck in the mud, when teams threw up a wall of defenders to prevent Giannis from penetrating the lane. (Think Toronto in last year’s playoffs and Miami this year.) He’s not yet a good passer out of doubleteams. He doesn’t have a goto shot of any kind. People might get excited when he hits a 3pointer or a couple of free throws, but these playoffs found him tossing up airballs or frontrim bricks on both — just like always. (He shot 4for21 outside the paint in the Miami series, 3for14 from beyond the arc.)
Not to get too sentimental on Thompson, but he’s a modernday Jerry West: absolutely elite on defense and one of the alltime shooters, both in form and clutch performance. He really knows how to win. You wonder, too, how Giannis would feel if he winds up with Curry, a man he greatly admires, and not much else on a depleted Golden State team.
We’ll give the final word to Kerith Burke, the Warriors’ sideline reporter with an understandable bias but also a comprehensive knowledge of the game: “Klay is an excellent twoway player, a walking heat check, every player’s favorite teammate, and he’s been real about being a Warrior for life. Expect the Warriors to honor that,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Don’t trade your soul.”