Giannis Antetokounmpo remaining with the Milwaukee Bucks was a not-so-quiet victory for the New York Knicks. The latest chatter surrounding potential criteria for his next team is an even bigger one—not because New York fits the bill, but because Giannis apparently has criteria at all.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the “buzz in the NBA” is that Giannis will weigh two primary desires if he decides to leave Milwaukee: staying on the East Coast, because it’s “closer to Greece,” and not playing alongside a “ball-dominant lead guard,” since he prefers “to be the primary engine driving his team’s offense.”
Don’t worry about Jalen Brunson’s offensive style foiling the Knicks’ shot at landing Giannis. It decidedly does not, and he is currently proving as much.
That these stipulations exist is the real eyebrow-raiser. They are proof that Giannis has given where he wants to play if he can’t contend with the Bucks some real thought. Doing so doesn’t just suggest he’ll re-evaluate his future, again, this summer. It implies he’s capable of applying the pressure necessary to land in New York.
This is potentially huge news for New York
This should come as a relief to the Knicks, who have no shot of winning the Giannis sweepstakes straight up. I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but dangling two first-round picks (2026 and 2033) and then anyone else on the roster not named Jalen Brunson doesn’t compare with what squads like the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks Brooklyn Nets, and maybe even the Miami Heat, among others, can offer up.
The Knicks instead need Giannis to narrow the list—sort of like he did last summer, only with more force.
This latest report does just that if it’s accurate. Forget about the type of guard he wants to play alongside. He just nuked the chances of asset-rich teams in the West like OKC, San Antonio, Houston, and Golden State.
One of them can turn around and trade for him anyway, but they’d be doing so under the threat of him leaving in 2027 free agency (player option). That is far less palatable of a play for even the most brazen risk-takers.
The Knicks are still going to need Giannis’ help
Unfortunately for the Knicks, Giannis’ assistance cannot end here. Plenty of teams in the East have more assets to put on the table—basically all of them, in fact.
As impressive as the improved play from Karl-Anthony Towns is, he’s not someone the Bucks or any other squad will value at the level of a king’s ransom. OG Anunoby is the closest New York gets to that player, but using him plus two firsts and other stuff won’t cut it against more pick-heavy offers, or potential star-for-star scenarios (Evan Mobley, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Johnson, etc.).
That’s where Giannis’ contract status looms largest. He was always going to have a say in where goes, but that leverage skyrockets one year out from free agency. If he sends the same hints he did last summer, on top of this latest batch of criteria, the Knicks could suddenly find themselves in the driver’s seat.
Whether that is still where they’re hoping to be will depend on how this next playoff push ends.