Knicks Can't Afford to Get Desperate in Giannis Trade Talks amid NBA Rumors

For some teams, the mere sighting of Giannis Antetokounmpo on the NBA trade block is reason enough to cobble together their best trade assets, route them toward the Milwaukee Bucks and pray the offer is accepted.

The New York Knicks aren't one of those teams.

They could use Antetokounmpo, in the same way just about anyone would benefit from picking up the two-time MVP. They just don't seem to sense a big enough need to go in full-throttle pursuit.

"The Knicks believe in this team," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Get Up! (2:53 mark). "...If they want to win a bidding war now, I think it's going to take a three- or four-team trade where they take some of their players and get other assets for them, and then come back to the Bucks and make very strong offers. That is just not happening. They are not showing that aggression to get Giannis right now, and I think that's because they like this team."

The idea of any team essentially telling Antetokounmpo "thanks, but no thanks" sounds somewhere between absurd and reckless.

For New York, though, this might actually be the proper response. (And it's one they've given before, remember.)

It's not that the Knicks are better off without him, but rather, it's that the degree of upgrade he'd offer is unclear. The Eastern Conference is very much up for grabs, and they've had stretches—like their current six-game winning streak, which has featured five double-digit triumphs—that suggest they're ready to seize it without him.

While they've stubbed their toe a few times, it hasn't happened often enough to deny them entry into the league's elite ranks. They're tied for sixth in winning percentage and sit fifth in net efficiency rating, per NBA.com.

This just might be a juggernaut as currently constructed.

If New York senses it is one, then a complicated, costly Antetokounmpo pursuit isn't worth the effort. Because it'd take a lot of gymnastics to get a deal done.

The Knicks don't have what the Bucks will want for Antetokounmpo. Their roster is nearly devoid of young, ascending talent, and the only first-round pick they can trade isn't actually a first-round pick. While they're owed a 2026 first from the Washington Wizards, the selection carries top eight-protection and converts to a pair of second-round picks if (or, when, really) it doesn't convey.

So, to satisfy Milwaukee's desires, New York would need to find prospects and/or draft capital from other trade partners to send to the Bucks. And that process would involve gutting this roster of multiple starters, like Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.

"The Bucks are looking for a premier young player(s) and multiple, good draft picks in exchange for one of the three best players in the NBA," James L. Edwards III wrote for The Athletic. "The Knicks have neither of those, and to get close to what the Bucks are asking for, New York would need to trade two or three players in its starting lineup, most likely OG Anunoby, Bridges and/or Towns."

That's a lot of boat-rocking from the No. 2 team on the Eastern Conference standings. Rhythm disruption would be unavoidable—the talks alone have brought an unwanted distraction—and the Knicks would only have so much time to get back on track. It's not even clear when that part of the process could get started, since Antetokounmpo is stuck on the sidelines with his second significant calf strain in his right leg this season.

For all of those reasons, New York should be close to out. While an ear must be kept open any time a player of this caliber becomes available, the timing just doesn't feel right for the Knicks. At the very least, they can't afford to bend over backward the way other suitors almost certainly are.