The New York Knicks will be closely tied to the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes until his situation is resolved. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar and his agent are discussing plans for what the future holds.
ESPN Giannis mock trade has the Knicks swap All-Stars
In all likelihood, the Bucks will look to move the superstar, which will undoubtedly shake up the title race in an instant. New York was the team that Antetokounmpo outright expressed interest in playing for, with New York having an exclusive negotiating period in August.
Obviously, a deal never came to fruition, so now the Knicks will have to fight with other teams that will certainly make a push. But do the Knicks have enough assets to pull off a trade?
ESPN’s NBA insiders proposed five different mock trades for teams that can land Antetokounmpo. Their Knicks proposal reads as follows:
Knicks receive:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Jericho Sims
Bucks receive:
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Pacome Dadiet
- Tyler Kolek
- 2026 first-round pick (top-8 protected, via WAS)
- 2028 first-round swap
- 2030 first-round swap
- 2032 first-round swap
The Knicks might not have enough assets to pull off a trade
In this deal, the Knicks essentially swap Towns for Antetokounmpo and send over a lot of draft capital to the Bucks. Towns has had an up-and-down season this year, but has shown at times that he can still dominate on any given night.
However, this package alone may not be enough for the Bucks to take, and it would strip the Knicks of essentially all of their future draft capital. They used five first-round picks to acquire Mikal Bridges a year ago, so they might not have enough assets to get it done for Antetokounmpo.
For them to land Antetokounmpo, one of two things will need to happen: either a third team gets involved to help match salaries, or Antetokounmpo pushes the envelope and essentially forces his way to New York by tabbing them as his desired destination.
The only way the Knicks will be able to pull off a trade involving only the Bucks will be if they are willing to give multiple key pieces. SNY’s Ian Begley reported that the Knicks like their current group and believe it is good enough to win a championship, so the chances of them gutting the roster for him are very slim.
Therefore, they may not be in a position to make a trade happen, even if they include Towns in the deal, as proposed. Anything can happen between now and the day a resolution in Milwaukee is found, but New York might need to look past the sweepstakes and look elsewhere for true upgrades without depleting their assets.