Giannis...to New York?
Knicks trade proposal lands Giannis Antetokounmpo amid rumors originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors persist.
The most recent update comes from ESPN’s Shams Charania, who claimed, “Antetokounmpo is open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.”
Antetokounmpo has dispelled Charania’s notions, but this is also the NBA, and nothing, even with a future Hall of Famer, is ever off the table.
Given Antetokounmpo’s potentially murky future with the Bucks, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes came up with several trade destinations, headlined by the New York Knicks:
“New York Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Danny Wolf, 2026 first-round swap (NYK), 2028 first-round swap (worst of NYK and BKN), 2030 first-round swap (NYK)
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Josh Hart, 2026 second-round pick (MIL via NYK), 2026 second-round pick (MIN via NYK)”
The Nets are involved for money purposes, but the key takeaways here are Towns, Hart, and some picks for Antetokounmpo.
From an on-court perspective, the Knicks could roll out Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Antetokounmpo, and Mitchell Robinson as the starting five, with Deuce McBride, Jordan Clarkson, and Guerschon Yabusele as the key rotational pieces.
The spacing would be an issue alongside Robinson, and while Antetokounmpo is a far superior player to Julius Randle, it would present New York with some of the same clunky issues that plagued those iterations of the team.
However, this league is all about superstars. Few players on Earth offer Antetokounmpo’s ridiculous size, athleticism, skill, and championship pedigree.
Sacrificing Hart, the heart and soul of the Knicks, would displease some fans. Towns was also brilliant offensively in his debut New York campaign, and another season of gelling with Brunson could catapult this franchise closer to a title.
But this is Antetokounmpo we’re talking about, and if the Knicks could somehow pull this off, the fanbase would be quick to forget Towns and Hart’s contributions.
Category: Basketball
