Shams Charnia of ESPN dropped shocking news about the Knicks this morning, revealing that New York was the only team that Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was interested in being traded to.
These two sides briefly held trade talks according to this report, although the Bucks gave the Knicks the sense that they were never truly serious about a trade.
Milwaukee believed that New York didn’t make an all-out pursuit, but it creates questions about where these two sides could lie in the upcoming future.
It’s unclear if Leon Rose would have been able to make an offer that would land Giannis given New York’s lack of draft capital, but it creates the question of whether his influence could force a trade here.
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Could the Knicks End Up Trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo Down the Road?
This past season, Giannis Antetokounmpo average 30.4 points per game with 11.9 rebounds per game, putting up incredible numbers on both sides of the ball.
An elite defender with a dominant offensive game, there aren’t more than two or three players who are even on his level at the moment.
We know the Knicks don’t have the best draft capital to get a deal done right now, but next offseason they could position themselves to make a monster offer to the Bucks if Giannis Antetokounmpo asks out.
The variable that could change things here is that the Knicks could be his free agency, as if the two-time MVP only expresses interest in going to New York, it could scare other teams off.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks have far more draft capital, but if Giannis doesn’t want to go there, then those teams would be wary of making an offer knowing he could leave in free agency.
If the Knicks need more draft capital, they could always expand a potential trade for Giannis with multiple teams in order to open salary and add some more picks.
Again, where the Knicks could have an advantage is that they’re his only destination of interest; teams will not make an offer for a player who could leave them in a year.
Time will tell if this materializes into a trade down the road, but it is a massive development for a potential pursuit of a superstar.