As the Milwaukee Bucks' season continues to find new ways to disappoint, rumors are beginning to fly that star Giannis Antetokounmpo is preparing for a potential exit this summer—the leading destination: the Big Apple, joining the New York Knicks.
ESPN's Shams Charania reopened the Giannis trade floodgates, which admittedly have never fully closed over the past few years. Making an appearance on ESPN's show 'Get Up,' Charania provided an update on the future of Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
.@ShamsCharania provides the latest intel on Giannis and his future with the Bucks ✍️ pic.twitter.com/C95lCmBmDM
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 20, 2025
"Everyone knows Giannis Antetokounmpo loves the Bucks," Charania said. "But I'm here to tell you he loves winning more, and that's why everyone in that Bucks organization, they know what's at stake this season. They know the pressure. And every summer, when Giannis looks around and looks at the Buck's current roster, he looks [for] sustained, long-term winning. Where will he be able to find that? He has said publicly on the record, if he feels like that's not attainable anymore in Milwaukee, he will look elsewhere."
As the conversation continues about Antetokounmpo's future, many are already looking at the next landing spot for the two-time MVP. According to current oddsmakers, among the most likely teams to land Giannis are the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat, and both Los Angeles teams. However, there is one clear favorite who not only has the assets to land Giannis but can also continue to field a contending team.
The New York Knicks provide Giannis with everything he's looking for, from a prime market and attractive location to a competitive team—even after trading the price of acquisition. While the Knicks may have little in terms of first-round draft assets, they do have an assortment of players they can package for Antetokounmpo, from Karl Anthony-Towns to OG Anunoby to Josh Hart.
While Giannis may get everything he desires in a trade to NY, can the Bucks say the same?
Sure, players like Karl Anthony-Towns to OG Anunoby have their value, but when moving off of a generational talent like Antetokoumpo, the mistake teams have often made in the past is trading a superstar for multiple star or sub-All-Star talents. While the draft is far from certain, it's often the better alternative.
A great example of this comes from a previous Knicks trade. In 2011, the Denver Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman to the New York Knicks in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and a first-round pick. Gallinari and Chandler were 22 and 23, respectively, but neither was expected to become anything close to the superstar that Anthony was.
To that point, as great as Anthony was — named to six All-NBA teams, he was never Giannis — named to eight All-NBA teams and a two-time MVP. So, while players like Towns and Anunoby offer more value than Gallinari and Chandler, not to mention Raymond Felton was a legitimate asset in that deal, considering the value of acquiring a two-time MVP, the return would prove ultimately similarly unsatisfactory.
Still, there is some good news for Knicks fans.
Ideally, a team trading away an incredible talent would love to recoup an immense amount of future first-round picks, a young player or two, and set themselves up for a proper tank, much in the way the Oklahoma City Thunder did so years ago when they traded away former MVP Russell Westbrook and then-MVP candidate Paul George. The good news for Knicks fans is that it's not in the Bucks' best interest to tank.
In every draft from 2025 to 2030, the Bucks are without their own first-round pick. The Bucks have already traded away their first-round picks in 2025, 2027 (top 4 protected), and 2029 (unprotected). Milwaukee also owes pick swaps in 2026, 2028, and 2030.
Without access to their own pick throughout the next six drafts, tanking makes very little sense for Milwaukee, meaning the decision to opt for acquiring talents like Towns or Anunoby may be the best realistic option for Milwaukee.
The market for Giannis, should he look to leave Milwaukee this offseason, will be robust and highly competitive, but the Knicks have the pieces to have a shot, especially if Milwaukee is looking to remain competitive in a post-Giannis world.