Report: The Golden State Warriors Are Potential Front Runners In Signing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
On May 8, 2020, Giannis Antetokounmpo was hacked on Twitter, where the world witnessed some very questionable tweets. Some of these tweets include, “I’m going to the Warriors” and “F*** Khris Middleton I wanna play with some actual shooters.” These tweets are quite disturbing and disrespectful and caused meaningless, unnecessary drama in the basketball world. For someone to purposely hack one of the greatest athletes in the world, the former MVP did not deserve such a heartless act. With the world essentially shut down from COVID-19, this should be an opportunity for the world to rejoice rather than committing such childish actions.
Although every tweet that was sent out to the world was alarming, one of the tweets caught my eye, which was, “I’m going to the Warriors.” With this tweet being an obvious fake, the Golden State Warriors in real life have been keeping a close eye on Giannis Antetokounmpo and have also reportedly expect to sign Giannis next season. Giannis on the Warriors would break the NBA and would shift the balance as the Western Conference would overthrow the weakened Eastern Conference. However, if this did happen, how would the Warriors match-up against the best teams in the NBA?
Giannis Antetokounmpo, for some people, is regarded as the best player in the NBA. From his freakish stature to his incredible all-around athleticism, Giannis is a warrior (no pun intended) that is prepared to destroy anyone that crosses his path. With him winning his first of many MVP awards, Giannis is already a Hall of Famer and is hungry to win his first NBA championship. If this signing did happen, the Warriors would be a contender for the championship but would also tarnish Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name in the process. With Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors back in 2016, the basketball community was left speechless and started to burn not only his jersey but also lose all respect for him. I believe that if Giannis signed with the Warriors, he would easily be named as the biggest traitor in sports history!
(Note - If this signing did happen, the Warriors would have to trade away Andrew Wiggins or Draymond Green to have enough cap space).
When Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors, it was a very unexpected signing due to Kevin previously losing in the Conference Finals against the Warriors. However, for the sake of argument, Durant, for years, attempted to win a championship with the OKC Thunder but failed miserably due to the lack of shooting depth and many failed attempts in playing alongside Russell Westbrook. The only time Durant touched the finals was in 2012, where he played alongside a young, inexperienced Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka, where they fall to Lebron James and the Miami Heat. Fast forward to the 2015-16 season, Durant, in his mind, felt that joining the Golden State Warriors was the better decision then returning to his beloved former team in Oklahoma. In hindsight, this was a smart move for Durant as he goes on to win two championships and two finals MVP’s and is in the discussion for the best player in the NBA! Although this was a cheap move from a superstar, Durant ended up fulfilling his basketball goal, which was to be a champion.
To make matters even worse, loyalty is a blurry concept in the NBA as owners tend to trade away, anyone that they feel doesn’t belong despite the history with the team. Some players that fall into this category would be, Isaiah Thomas, Demar Derozen, and Blake Griffin who were all very content and satisfied with their former teams, for the most part, and was promised to be a crucial part of the teams future rebuilding or contending process but were backstabbed by the front office. This is an essential detail about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s free agency decision as he also realizes that if he doesn’t deliver a championship, he too can be traded away.
Now I know what your thinking, “Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded, THAT’S INSANE!” Even though Giannis is a rare talent, the main priority for these NBA owners is running their business. If Giannis signs a five year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and fails to win a championship in the first four years of his contract, I wouldn’t be surprised if the organization decides to trade him away despite his evident loyalty all those years. With that being said, I believe that this factor will take place in any decision he chooses to make.
The reason why the Milwaukee Bucks are as good as they are is solely due to the leadership and dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the shooting depth he is provided with. From Khris Middleton to George Hill, the Bucks are excellent at finding outlets to get open on the offensive end to shoot a jump-shot or a three-pointer. If Giannis could win 60+ games with a team of highly efficient to average shooters, imagine what he could do with the greatest shooting backcourt of all-time in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson! The way I vision the offence to be operated would be, Giannis would be the main focal point and would lead the charge for the Warriors alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry would be the primary playmaker and three-point shooter while also averaging 25 or more points per game. Klay Thompson, however, would have a role that he has always had which is, to play excellent perimeter defence while also being a volume shooter. Even though Klay tore his ACL last season in the 2019 NBA finals, Klay is known for shooting the ball at an elite level. I believe that Klay would be a bit shaky at times, but overall, he would be the same player we all know and appreciate today. This deadly trio would instantly become, in my opinion, the greatest Golden State Warriors team ever assembled due to the Warriors having the elite rebounding and inside scoring of Giannis Antetokounmpo. For years, the Warrior’s main weakness was lacking an elite rebounding center or big man. Even though they were successful without one, the idea of having an athletic forward that can crash the paint with ease and rebound the ball efficiently is a terrifying thought to have. If Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson misses a jump-shot or a three-pointer, they can rely on Giannis bullying his opponent inside the paint to retrieve the offensive rebound. The Warriors would fix their biggest flaw while also having incredible shooters and defenders. In all my years of watching basketball, I would have to say that this team would have the greatest trio in recent NBA history or would they?
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Golden State Warriors would introduce a new kind of superteam filled with balance and overall dominance. If the rest of the NBA remained the same, the only teams that I believe would have a decent shot at defeating the Warriors would be the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Brooklyn Nets have a deadly duo with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving while also having one of the best benches in the NBA. Players such as Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince are among some of the names that come off the bench for the Nets and could easily start for any other team in the NBA. With the continuous defensive rotational presence in the paint of De’Andre Jordan and Jarrett Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo would have a hard time scoring in the paint and would look to pass it out to Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson. Although Kyrie Irving is a poor defender, Spencer Dinwiddie’s overall physical build would be enough to slow down Stephen Curry but not stop him. Kevin Durant being the best defensive option available for the Nets, would take the responsibility of guarding the perimeter and occasionally disrupt any offence in the paint. The Nets would be a fair opponent to the Warriors; however, I believe that this series would go in favour of the Warriors. Even though Giannis would be slowed down inside the paint, no one can physically stop the dominance of Giannis in this series, and I believe he would still average incredible numbers and lead the Warriors to victory.
The Los Angeles Clippers, in my opinion, would have a higher chance of defeating the Golden State Warriors if the team remained the same. From the superstar duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to the Clippers fantastic bench unit with Lou Williams Montrezl Harrell and Reggie Jackson among some of the names that come off the bench, the Clippers would be the biggest threat to the Warriors by far. With Giannis being the main focal point of the Warriors offence, the Clippers would use Kawhi Leonard, otherwise known as the Giannis stopper. In the 2019 conference finals, Giannis met his equal and was later exposed by the more experienced Kawhi Leonard. In this series, Kawhi would have to deal with a more experienced Giannis; however, he would still defend him reasonably well. As far as the guard rotation goes between Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Paul George and Patrick Beverley would have zero to no problem in restricting shooting production of the Warriors backcourt. Furthermore, the Clippers incredible depth would be the icing on the cake and would give this Warriors team a fight, unlike no other. This would be the toughest team the Warriors would have to face, and I believe that the Clippers could beat this team occasionally. In terms of the playoffs, Kawhi Leonard has proven himself last season to be one of the best playoff players in NBA history and led his team to their first-ever championship victory in franchise history! Although Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were successful in winning a championship without the help Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to prove himself as a player that can lead his team to a championship. With that being said, this Warriors team would be one of the greatest teams ever assembled in NBA history; however, the Clippers, in my opinion, would defeat this new look Warriors team. With Kawhi Leonard being the reigning finals MVP and the Clippers incredible coaching staff and depth, it would be tough to see any team defeat the Clippers in a playoff environment. The Clippers are built for the playoffs and are by far the scariest team in the NBA! Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a fun addition to the Warriors; however, if everything else remained the same for the most part, I believe that the Clippers would still be the best team in the NBA due to their incredible depth and their star-studded duo in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
In the end, Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Warriors would break the NBA and make the Western Conference significantly stronger than the East. With Giannis playing alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, this trio would be a lot of fun too watch and would most likely win a championship with each other. However, their biggest rival would be the Clippers as they can match close to anything the Warriors can throw at them except Curry’s and Klay’s shooting production past the arc. The Brooklyn Nets would be another obstacle for the Warriors; however, I believe that the Warriors have a force that the Nets cannot match being Giannis Antetokounmpo. Although Kevin Durant is a terrific defender, he is also a lengthy individual who would suffer against Giannis in the post. Kawhi Leonard, however, has proven to expose Giannis and reveals to all of us that Giannis’s only legitimate threat in the NBA is Kawhi Leonard. With the Clippers and Nets being the two main threats for this new looked Warriors team, where would the Lakers rank among these incredibly built teams?
