New Knicks Rumors on Giannis, Donovan Mitchell & DiVincenzo Trade Decisions Before NY Won NBA Title

The New York Knicks' path to the NBA championship was filled with a number of sliding-doors moments, and there may never have been a Larry O'Brien Trophy waiting at the end if president Leon Rose and the rest of the front office made different decisions regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, Donte DiVincenzo and others.

The Antetokounmpo decision may have been taken out of New York's hands, as ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Sunday even though the Milwaukee Bucks star made it known last summer he was interested in playing for the Knicks, it takes two teams to complete a trade.

"I don't think Milwaukee was really serious about trading him," a source told Shelburne. "But if they had been willing to trade him, the Knicks would've traded for him."

Another near trade involved Mitchell.

Shelburne reported New York held "internal discussions about whether Mitchell and [Jalen] Brunson could coexist before engaging in serious talks, and sources said there were differing opinions on whether adding another ball-dominant guard would hurt Brunson's ability to fill the lead role they'd signed him to play."

The Knicks decided not to complete the trade with the Utah Jazz and, in something of an ironic twist, eliminated Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals on the way to the championship.

Knicks-Cavaliers Highlights

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One trade New York did make was the one that landed Karl-Anthony Towns, even though it cost the team a fan-favorite in DiVincenzo.

According to Shelburne, including DiVincenzo in the deal "crushed Rose." Still, he chose to make the deal because he "believed Towns would be a perfect complement for Brunson's skill set."

It turns out he was right.

Brunson and Towns led the Knicks during one of the most memorable playoff runs in NBA history.

They lost just three games the entire postseason with two of the defeats coming in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks. Sweeps of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cavaliers cleared the way for what became a five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Perhaps New York still would have won the title if it chose to trade for Antetokounmpo or Mitchell. After all, they are excellent playmakers and surely would have figured out a way to thrive alongside Brunson.

But those are hypotheticals, and the Knicks are champions in reality.