Harsh Reality of Warriors' Trade Pursuit for LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo

With how much attention the Golden State Warriors' offseason has gotten, you'd think they signed two All-Star players and completely overhauled their roster.

However, the reality is that they've done nothing and have watched Kevon Looney leave for the New Orleans Pelicans while Jonathan Kuminga's restricted free agency has put everything on hold.

While the Warriors extended Kuminga's 2021 NBA Draft counterpart in Moses Moody before last season, he decided to try and improve his value, and his season was full of ups and downs.

Now, Kuminga is one of four key restricted free agents fighting for a fair contract, with the qualifying offer looming as a worst-case scenario option.

According to reports, the Warriors are interested in signing Kuminga to a two-year, $45 million contract.

With that, the expectation would be to trade Kuminga on that deal, as they would avoid him being on the qualifying offer and have the ability to trade him anywhere that works financially.

While Warriors fans may want big names in return, there's some harsh reality to that.

In a recent piece by NBA insider Jake Fischer, he revealed that Kuminga signing a deal like the one mentioned above wouldn't put them in a position to land stars like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"Even if the Warriors had Kuminga on their books making a tradeable salary north of $20 million, it would still be very challenging for Golden State to assemble a trade offer palatable to the Lakers that could match James' $52.6 million salary without gutting their roster.

The same holds true if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to ever request a trade out of Milwaukee," Fischer wrote .

With the Warriors' aging core of Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, their best chance to capture another title would be to swing for the fences for a star like James or Antetokounmpo.

However, as Fischer writes, it'd be far more complicated than fans think for them to pull a move like that off.

If the Warriors were to ink Kuminga to a deal in the $20 million annual range, they'd likely have to include Green in a deal to match a salary figure north of $50 million annually.

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