Analyst Predicts Warriors’ In-State Rivals Could Derail Future Giannis Antetokounmpo Pursuit originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

It has been an underwhelming offseason thus far for the Golden State Warriors as they have failed to make any additions to their roster outside of the 2025 draft.

Of course, the Warriors are still awaiting Joanthan Kuminga’s decision in free agency which has caused them to miss out on multiple players.

Despite this, there have been reports that Golden State already has multiple deals in place with free agents that will become official after Kuminga’s decision to help upgrade their roster.

While the Warriors are focused on this offseason, they, along with many teams around the NBA, are also focused on future offseasons including the one in 2027.

This is due to the fact that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be an unrestricted free agent during the 2027 offseason and with his future in Milwaukee looking uncertain, he could be on the move in two years.

Of course, the Warriors have been linked to Giannis over the past few seasons but it is highly unlikely that they will try to make a trade for him when they could instead wait until the 2027 offseason to sign him.

While that may be the case, NBA analyst Bill Simmons believes that one of their in-state rivals could be a team to watch as a potential landing spot for Giannis when he becomes a free agent.

“What they’ve really done here is clear the books to 2027,” Simmons said about the Los Angeles Clippers. “I think this is a real thing. I think the Bucks are terrified of it.”

The Clippers might be cooking something big.

At least that’s how Bill Simmons views it.

After moving Norman Powell and stacking short-term deals this offseason, L.A.’s future cap sheet is nearly spotless.

By the summer of 2027, the only significant veteran still under… pic.twitter.com/BDtfH18PHQ

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 28, 2025

Simmons makes a great point about how the Clippers have set themselves up to chase Giannis in 2027 with the moves they have made over the past few seasons.

By 2027, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Bradley Beal, Chris Paul and Brook Lopez may all be off their roster and the only piece of their core signed through 2027 is Ivica Zubac.

Because of this, the Clippers would have enough cap space to make a run at signing Giannis in 2027 which could have a massive impact on other teams’ chances of landing him, especially the Warriors.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.