NBA trade proposal sends Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo to Warriors, Draymond Green to Celtics

NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks — Getty

There’s always one name that hangs over the NBA like a storm cloud once trade season creeps into view. This year, it’s not subtle. It’s not debatable. It’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

An MVP in his prime is not supposed to be theoretical trade fodder. That’s the rule. Superstars like this don’t “shake loose.” They age out, decline, or retire with one logo stitched to their legacy.

And yet, here we are again, having the same conversation, only this time it feels less ridiculous and more … inevitable-adjacent.

That’s not an indictment of Giannis. Far from it. He’s still doing Giannis things. Nearly 30 a night. Double-digit boards. Constant pressure at the rim. Defensive chaos. Nothing about his individual game suggests slippage.

The question is structural. It’s environmental. It’s whether Milwaukee, drifting toward the East’s middle class, can realistically build a title-caliber roster around him with the flexibility it currently lacks.

That’s how hypotheticals like this gain oxygen. Here it is, as proposed by Dallas Hoops Journal’s James Piercey:

Warriors receive:

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Gary Harris

Bucks receive:

Jonathan Kuminga
Anfernee Simons
Buddy Hield
2026 first-round pick (GSW)
2028 first-round pick (GSW)
2032 first-round pick (GSW)

Celtics receive:

Draymond Green

It’s messy. It’s layered. It’s exactly how an Antetokounmpo trade would have to look.

Why Celtics Get Involved

Boston isn’t chasing Giannis here. They’re sharpening the edges.

This is financial and functional. Anfernee Simons’ expiring money turns into Draymond Green’s slightly longer deal. That matters. It preserves flexibility in a cap environment that’s only getting tighter, while also addressing something Boston quietly needs, which is defensive organization when things bog down.

Green doesn’t have to be peak Draymond. He just has to talk, anticipate, and stabilize. Boston already scores with anyone. What they need is someone who can pull everyone into the same defensive rope in May. Green still does that.

They’re not overpaying. They’re facilitating. That’s smart business.

Why Bucks Pull the Trigger

This is the hard part. And it always is.

Trading Giannis isn’t about winning the press conference. It’s about reclaiming control. Milwaukee doesn’t own its own future the way rebuilding teams usually do. That’s the problem. This deal injects outside draft capital and multiple pivot points.

Kuminga is the swing. If he pops, this looks entirely different in hindsight. If he doesn’t, the Bucks still walk away with tradable contracts, spacing, and picks that aren’t tied to their own timeline.

Simons gives them offense and flexibility. Hield gives them shooting and another movable deal. The picks matter most. They’re oxygen.

This isn’t a teardown. It’s a reset that gives Milwaukee options again. That alone has value.

Why Warriors Take the Leap

Because half-measures don’t work anymore.

The Warriors are no longer one tweak away. They’re one swing away. Stephen Curry still bends the sport. That matters. But gravity alone doesn’t win titles anymore.

Giannis plus Steph is unfair basketball. There’s no scheme for it. You pick your poison and die by the other one.

Yes, the Warriors would torch their future draft control. That’s the price. But that’s also the franchise’s history. They’ve done this before. It worked.

This move doesn’t extend the dynasty. It revives it, briefly but violently. And when you have Curry, briefly is enough.

If Giannis ever truly becomes available, this is the kind of swing that defines eras. Not safe. Not clean. But absolutely worth it.

Sometimes, you don’t fish for the biggest catch.

You throw everything in the water and hope it bites.