The Cavaliers know who to root for in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade race

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

That's an important caveat to discussing the situation in Milwaukee and the host of teams likely to line up and make an offer for the two-time MVP. The Bucks are currently in a death spiral, a false-hope win over the Utah Jazz notwithstanding. Given that Antetokounmpo has made explicitly clear he won't stay in Milwaukee if they cannot contend, a trade "request" (it's hard to see Giannis making a demand about anything) seems inevitable.

Once it comes, the Cavs shouldn't bother picking up the phone. Jarrett Allen, Max Strus and Georges Niang plus a single first isn't getting anywhere near a viable offer for Antetokounmpo. Given how well Cleveland is playing and how their future depends on Evan Mobley's space to grow as an offensive hub - one who looks a lot like a young Giannis at this point - a trade wouldn't necessarily make sense even if they had the assets.

The Cavaliers have a favorite in the Giannis trade market

That doesn't mean, however, that the Cavaliers have no skin in the game. Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have been among the best teams in the Eastern Conference for the last half-decade, and with Giannis still in his prime his new team will hope to ascend to a similar place in the conference standings. As Cleveland looks to assert itself at the top of the East - a 9-0 start isn't a bad way to begin that journey - it would behoove them to see Giannis moving out of the East altogether.

NBA Insider Marc Stein reported earlier this week on the four teams at the front of the line for any Giannis Antetokounmpo trade: the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks, the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets.

Each has a path to building a real trade package for Antetokounmpo, some more easily than others. Yet the Cavaliers know who to root for: their old friends out in San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors.

If Giannis lands in Miami, they would have a defensive juggernaut and a lot of star power to try and regain their place near the top of the Eastern Conference. The New York Knicks would have an incredible assortment of two-way players and two Top-10 players in Giannis and Jalen Brunson. The Brooklyn Nets would have more work to do, but they have a lot of cap and draft pick flexibility to further build out a team around Antetokounmpo.

If the Cavaliers are trying to battle the Boston Celtics for supremacy in the Eastern Conference, and if they want to not only secure a top seed but defend it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond, they don't want a two-time MVP and former Finals MVP lurking on any of the teams in the East, and certainly not a team poised to erupt from the bottom of the bracket.

Instead, they would much rather he head out West and join Stephen Curry on the Warriors. That certainly makes the Warriors a more potent foe to meet once again in the NBA Finals, and makes it more likely the Warriors reach that point, but they will need to survive a true gauntlet in the West and the Cavs are already certain to face a juggernaut in the Finals no matter who makes it out: Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; Giannis isn't really worse than any of them.

After spending all of last season as the center of trade rumors and speculation, it's a happy change for the Cavaliers to be praised for their on-court success and to see the rumor mill pull up stakes and move to Milwaukee instead. If and when a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade goes down, the Cavs are hoping he packs up his wagon and heads west.