The Golden State Warriors are approaching one of the most defining crossroads of the Stephen Curry era, with the possible availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo forcing uncomfortable but necessary questions at the highest levels of the organization.
For years, the idea of pairing Curry with Antetokounmpo lived firmly in fantasy territory. Now, it is a scenario that appears increasingly realistic, and one that may require the franchise to reconsider even its most untouchable figure: Draymond Green.
According to ESPN reporter Anthony Slater, Golden State has widened the scope of what it would entertain in trade talks involving Antetokounmpo.
That shift signals a meaningful philosophical change for a front office that has historically prioritized continuity and loyalty to its championship core.
At the center of the mechanics is Jimmy Butler. The 36-year-old is owed nearly $57 million next season, making his contract the most straightforward salary-matching tool in any potential deal.
But while Butler may be the cleanest financial fit, league insiders suggest that discussions would not necessarily stop there.
“They are not actively shopping his contract, team sources said, but everything is on the table in an Antetokounmpo conversation – and Butler is the clear salary match, though a deal involving Draymond Green and several other rotation players is also plausible,” Slater reported Thursday.
A change of status for Draymond Green
For Green, even being mentioned in such conversations represents a seismic shift.
A four-time NBA champion and former Defensive Player of the Year, Green has long been considered foundational to the Warriors‘ dynasty.
That perception, however, appears to soften under the extraordinary circumstances created by Antetokounmpo potentially entering the market.
NBA insider Jake Fischer hinted at this inflection point last month while discussing how transformative Antetokounmpo‘s availability could be.
“The Warriors have likewise been reluctant to consider win-now, all-in moves that would require them to trade away Draymond Green, but Antetokounmpo, in all likelihood, would change that equation,” Fischer wrote in The Stein Line in December.
“His availability has the power to change the calculus of damn near every front office around the league.”
A franchise-defining gamble for Golden State
For Golden State, the debate is less about sentiment and more about timing.
With Curry still performing at an elite level, the organization must decide whether maximizing his remaining championship window justifies sacrificing one of the dynasty’s original architects.
The front office’s willingness to explore such dramatic scenarios is supported by years of careful asset management. As Slater outlined, the Warriors possess significant draft capital that could sweeten an offer.
“The Warriors can offer up to four first-rounders: 2026, 2028, 2032 unprotected and 2030 if it falls within the 1-20 range (top-20 protected owed to Washington as part of the Jordan Poole-for-Chris Paul trade),” Slater wrote.
“Because of Milwaukee’s outgoing picks, it could only command one additional pick swap.”
Ironically, Green himself has previously warned against mortgaging the future for moves that do not fundamentally change a team’s trajectory when discussing a potential pursuit of Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
“I’m a big fan of Markkanen’s game,” Green told Slater back in October. “But you usually don’t win those things against Danny Ainge. I look at history.”
History, however, rarely presents opportunities like Antetokounmpo. And if the Warriors truly believe this move could extend the dynasty one final time, even their most sacred untouchables may no longer be off limits.
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