Warriors Almost Traded For Rival Big Man
Feb 6, 2026
The Golden State Warriors struck out at the NBA trade deadline. They went all-in to try and land Giannis Antetokounmpo, a long-time dream acquisition for them, and fell short. It was never fully clear how close the Warriors were to landing the Greek Freak. However, as the rest of the league made moves to bolster their rosters or prepare for the future, the Warriors were stuck with the leftovers because they had been so focused on Giannis.
One player who may have been a perfect fit in Golden State but fell through the cracks is Jaren Jackson Jr. JJJ was traded to the Utah Jazz for three first-round picks, a price the Warriors easily could have matched.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN recently reported that the Warriors were actually engaged in trade talks to land JJJ at one point this deadline.
"Couple weeks ago the Warriors had some pretty extensive conversations with the Memphis Grizzlies about Jaren Jackson Jr.... but then Giannis was maybe available, and so they tabled those conversations because they needed those (two 1st round) picks in the Giannis trade, and then Utah came in with three 1st round picks.”
If the Warriors had a real shot at Giannis, they needed to take it. That being said, if they had any indications that the Bucks were going to hold onto him until the summer, they needed to pivot away more quickly.
They did end up landing Kristaps Porziņģis, but with his health issues, this wasn’t much of an addition. Maybe the Warriors will learn from their failures at this deadline and focus less on the biggest name in order to make some less sexy improvements next time.
