At first, the Golden State Warriors’ choice of Larry Harris to represent them at the draft lottery Sunday was curious. Harris is clearly a trusted executive, having worked for the Warriors for 18 years, the last decade spent as director of player personnel and assistant general manager. But he also spent 20 years with the Milwaukee Bucks, serving as the team’s GM from 2003-08.
That’s why it’s intriguing that ESPN’s Jay Williams reported that the Bucks had “a whole lot of Giannis conversations” at the lottery,
specifically with the Warriors and the Miami Heat.
The Warriors’ interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo is no secret. They’ve been eyeing, circling around, discussing, sniffing around, gauging the interest of, lobbying for, seriously considering, setting their sights on, and even exploring trade scenarios for the Bucks forward for years. Now that the Bucks are “open for business” regarding Antetokounmpo, it’s time for the Warriors to make that big trade!
However, the lottery results didn’t help their cause. The Warriors didn’t move up from the No. 11 pick, though on the plus side, the Heat didn’t move up either. Getting a top-4 pick might have sweetened a potential package for the Greek Freak, especially in a draft with a clear consensus top four prospects in AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson.
It’s obvious why the Warriors would be interested in Antetokounmpo. It’s less clear why Antetokounmpo would be interested in a Warriors team that was under .500 and missed the playoffs last season, even if he has a fondness for Steph Curry. Even if Larry Harris is incredibly plugged in to the Bucks front office, he can’t magically turn a package headlined by Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski and the No. 11 overall pick in 2026 into a better offer than what Milwaukee could get from a number of other teams.
But the Warriors also don’t have a lot of options better than taking a home-run swing on Antetokounmpo if they want to maximize the rest of Steph Curry’s career, and trading for Antetokounmpo is probably more likely than convincing LeBron James to take a substantial pay cut to relocated 350 miles north.
It’s still quite early to be making moves, but as a wise man from Tupelo, Mississippi, the Warriors need a little less conversation, and a little more action.
