The Golden State Warriors’ 2025-26 season ended the same way too many recent seasons have ended: too early, too quietly, and with a familiar sense of disappointment.
A 37-45 record. The No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. A play-in tournament loss to the Phoenix Suns that wasn’t even competitive in the final minutes. And now, for the second time in three seasons, the Warriors are watching the playoffs from home.
Let that sink in. This is a franchise that won four championships in eight years. A franchise that changed the way basketball is played. A franchise that still has Stephen Curry on the roster.
And yet, here they are. Mired in mediocrity. Trapped by a roster that doesn’t work. Haunted by injuries that won’t stop.
Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL in January and missed the rest of the season. He was supposed to be the next main man after Curry. Instead, he became another entry on a growing list of what-ifs.
Curry himself dealt with absences and only returned a few games before the regular season ended. Draymond Green’s performance is dropping. The supporting cast isn’t good enough.
The dynasty isn’t dead. But it’s on life support.
Now, the Warriors face the most important offseason of the post-Kevin Durant era. They have a win-now mandate. They have a 38-year-old Curry whose window is closing by the day. And they have an opportunity to do something bold – something transformative.
According to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Ron Kroichick, that something should be Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“They should swing for the moon with Antetokounmpo, given his ability and age (31).”
Swing for the moon. Not a role player. Not a complementary piece. A two-time MVP, a Finals MVP, a defensive player of the year candidate, and one of the most physically dominant forces the NBA has ever seen.
Can the Warriors actually pull this off? What would it cost? And is Giannis the missing piece that extends the dynasty – or the all-in gamble that breaks it for good?
Let’s break it all down.
The Season That Broke the Warriors: 37-45 and Falling
Let’s not sugarcoat what just happened.
The Warriors went 37-45. They were the only playoff-eligible franchise with a sub-.500 winning percentage. That’s not a “championship contender having a bad year.” That’s a bad team that snuck into the play-in tournament because someone had to.
The play-in loss to Phoenix was almost merciful. The Suns won 111-96, and the game wasn’t as close as the score suggested. The Warriors looked old. They looked slow. They looked like a team that had run out of ideas.
The injuries were brutal. Butler’s ACL tear in January effectively ended any hope of a late-season surge. Curry’s own absences meant he never found a rhythm. By the time he returned, the season was already lost.
But injuries aren’t the whole story. The roster around Curry is fundamentally flawed.
Draymond Green: Still brilliant defensively at times, but his offensive limitations are more glaring than ever. He’s 36. His body is breaking down.
Jimmy Butler: Won’t be back until at least January 2027. Even when he returns, he’ll be 37 and coming off a major knee injury.
Brandin Podziemski: Promising, but not ready to be a third option on a contender.
The rest: A collection of minimum-salary veterans and undeveloped young players.
The Warriors need more than a tweak. They need a transformation.
The Giannis Situation: Why Milwaukee Might Actually Let Him Go
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Why would the Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo?
For years, the idea seemed preposterous. Giannis is Milwaukee. He brought a championship to a franchise that hadn’t won one in 50 years. He signed supermax extensions. He talked about loyalty.
But things have changed.
The Bucks missed the playoffs this season, snapping a 10-year postseason streak. That’s not a blip. That’s a collapse. And when teams collapse, fingers start pointing.
Tensions between Giannis and the Bucks’ front office are no longer a secret. Communication issues have been reported. There’s a growing sense that both parties might be better off moving on.
Here’s the timeline that matters:
Before the June NBA Draft: Milwaukee wants to decide Giannis’s future.
October: The Bucks can offer him a four-year extension.
After 2026-27 season: If he declines the extension, Giannis can hit free agency.
The Bucks will not let him walk for nothing. If Giannis signals that he won’t sign an extension, Milwaukee will have no choice but to trade him this offseason.
That’s where the Warriors come in.
The Fit: Giannis Next to Stephen Curry
Let’s close our eyes and imagine it.
Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter in NBA history, standing in the corner while Giannis Antetokounmpo barrels down the lane like a runaway freight train. Defenses have to choose: collapse on Giannis and leave Curry open? Or stay with Curry and watch Giannis dunk on someone’s head?
There’s no right answer. That’s the point.
Giannis is not a perfect offensive fit in every system. He’s not a shooter. He needs space to operate. But next to Curry, space is never a problem. Defenses are so terrified of Curry’s gravity that they’ll sell out to stop him – and that’s when Giannis attacks.
Defensively, Giannis is a game-changer. He can guard all five positions. He’s a rim protector. He’s a weak-side terror. The Warriors’ defense has been a mess since their championship years. Giannis would single-handedly fix half of those problems.
The age factor matters too. Giannis turned 31 in December. He’s still in his prime. Curry is 38. The timelines don’t perfectly align, but Giannis gives the Warriors a bridge to the post-Curry era. He’d be the franchise cornerstone for the next five years.
The Cost: What Would Golden State Have to Give Up?
Now for the cold, hard reality. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not coming to Golden State for free. The price would be astronomical.
Here’s what a realistic trade package might look like:
The core:
Jonathan Kuminga (young, athletic forward with star potential)
Brandin Podziemski (future starting guard, cost-controlled)
Moses Moody (solid 3-and-D wing)
Three first-round picks (maybe four, depending on the bidding war)
Pick swaps (to sweeten the pot)
Salary matching:
Draymond Green (if the Warriors are willing to move him)
Kristaps Porzingis (in a sign-and-trade, as Kroichick suggested)
Multiple smaller contracts to make the numbers work
That’s a haul. That’s the kind of package that would make any GM think twice. But here’s the question: is Giannis worth it?
The Kroichick Plan: Swing for the Moon, Then Figure It Out
Ron Kroichick’s proposal is worth reading carefully. He doesn’t just say “trade for Giannis.” He offers a roadmap.
First, the Warriors should try to land Giannis. Empty the asset cupboard. Make the biggest offer they can. Because a core of Curry and Giannis – even with an aging supporting cast – is a championship contender.
But Kroichick also offers a backup plan:
“If that doesn’t work, then try to package players — Green? Kristaps Porzingis in a sign-and-trade? — and draft picks for an impactful starter.”
That’s the right approach. The Warriors shouldn’t put all their eggs in the Giannis basket. But they should make a serious run. And if it doesn’t work, they need a Plan B that still upgrades the roster.
The Salary Cap Nightmare: Can the Warriors Even Make the Money Work?
Let’s get technical for a moment.
The Warriors are in a steep salary-cap zone. They project deep into the luxury tax and second apron territory for next season. That’s not just a problem for ownership’s wallet – it’s a problem for roster construction.
Teams in the second apron face severe restrictions:
No use of the mid-level exception
Cannot aggregate salaries in trades (making it harder to match big contracts)
Cannot take back more salary than they send out
Future draft picks can be frozen or moved to the end of the first round
To acquire Giannis, the Warriors would need to shed significant salary. That means moving Butler’s contract (difficult, since he’s injured), moving Green’s contract (emotionally difficult, but possible), or getting creative with a Porzingis sign-and-trade.
None of these options are easy. But if the Warriors are serious about winning now – and they should be – they’ll figure it out.
The Competition: Who Else Will Chase Giannis?
The Warriors are not the only team eyeing Giannis. Far from it.
The New York Knicks have been saving their assets for a superstar. They have draft picks. They have young players. They have the market.
The Miami Heat are always in the conversation. Pat Riley is desperate for one more title before he retires. He’ll make a Godfather offer.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have more draft picks than they know what to do with. They could outbid anyone if they wanted to.
The Dallas Mavericks would love to pair Giannis with Luka Doncic.
The Warriors have competition. But they also have something those teams don’t: Stephen Curry. For a superstar like Giannis, the chance to play with the greatest shooter ever – and to learn from a championship culture – is a legitimate selling point.
What If It Fails? The Risk of Going All-In
Let’s be honest about the downside.
The Warriors could trade everything for Giannis, and it could still not work. He could get hurt. The chemistry could be off. The supporting cast could be too thin.
And if it fails, the Warriors would be left with no picks, no young players, and a 31-year-old Giannis on a supermax contract. The post-Curry era would be a wasteland.
That’s the risk of swinging for the moon. You might miss. And if you miss, you fall hard.
But here’s the counterargument: the Warriors are already falling. They went 37-45. They missed the playoffs two of the last three seasons. The status quo isn’t working. Doing nothing is a guaranteed failure.
Swinging for Giannis at least gives them a chance.
The Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads. Stephen Curry is 38. Draymond Green is declining. Jimmy Butler is injured. The roster is expensive and flawed.
The Warriors can do the safe thing. They can run it back with minor tweaks, hope for health, and pray for a miracle. Or they can do the bold thing.
Ron Kroichick says the Warriors should “swing for the moon” on Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’s right.
Giannis is 31. He’s a two-time MVP. He’s a defensive player of the year. He’s a champion. And he might be available this offseason.
The cost would be enormous. The risk is real. But the reward – a core of Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo – is a championship contender in any era.
The Warriors didn’t become a dynasty by playing it safe. They became a dynasty by taking risks. By trading for Kevin Durant. By believing in Draymond Green. By building around Curry when everyone said he was injury-prone.
Now, they need to take one more risk. One more swing.
Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Warriors uniform. That’s the move. That’s the dream. And with the right offer, it could be the reality.
The window is closing. But it’s not closed yet.
Swing for the moon, Warriors. The worst they can say is no.