We now know that Giannis Antetokounmpo has no plans to leave the Milwaukee Bucks entering the 2025-26 season. The New York Knicks should actually be thrilled about it. Their chances of successfully pursuing him go up the longer he stays put.
Confirmation of Giannis’ decision came in the form of his older brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks signed him to a one-year guaranteed contract, prompting ESPN’s Shams Charania to report that “after a summer of exploring options, Giannis is staying in Milwaukee to start the season.”
This isn’t what you’d call an unexpected development. There’s no way Milwaukee goes through the trouble of waiving and stretching Damiana Lillard to get Myles Turner without being mostly certain Giannis is remaining on the roster.
The news will nevertheless come as a bummer to the (many) teams pining after his services—with the exception of the Knicks.
New York has a better chance of trading for Giannis next summer
Monitoring the availability of the two-time MVP is not the only prerequisite for landing him. You also need the assets to talk shop with the Bucks, if and when he does request a trade. The Knicks do not have assets. Not enough of them, anyway.
New York cannot deal a first-round selection until next summer, when it has two at its disposal: whoever gets selected with the team’s 2026 first-rounder, and a 2033 pick. That’s nowhere near enough to tip the scales in the Knicks’ favor, but it’s substantially more than the Knicks can offer him.
This same logic applies to the players they would need to include. Mikal Bridges cannot be traded for six months after signing his extension. His restriction lifts just a few days before the February 5 deadline, but that’s hardly enough time to broker the extrication of a top-five player—especially when, again, New York can’t yet throw in any first-rounders.
Going through another season before the Giannis sweepstakes begin also gives the Knicks an opportunity to drum up the value of their youngsters. Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet are unlikely to swing the fate of an entire deal, and neither is shaping up to be part of the rotation. Still, at this rate, the extra time can only help their value.
This is a good thing for New York
Even New York’s salary-matching tools get more appealing by waiting until next summer. Bridges will be on the books for more money, while both Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns will have one fewer season left on their contracts, rendering them more palatable to a transitioning team like a Giannis-less Milwaukee.
Any way you slice it, the Knicks’ best Giannis package is both easier to build and more appealing over the 2026 offseason than at any point before then. Make no bones about it, they’ll need his help anyway. They aren’t beating out everyone else strictly on the merits of their assets.
Even then, though, the Knicks can’t possibly hope to land him for a package featuring zero first-round selections. And now that he’s staying with the Bucks, they won’t have to.