When cobbling together trade packages the New York Knicks can put together for Giannis Antetokounmpo, OG Anunoby or their 2033 first-round pick is considered the closest they get to a crown-jewel asset. In reality, it’s Mikal Bridges.
Many will dismiss this debate as immaterial. Though ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the two-time MVP would only accept a trade to New York over the offseason, the Knicks’ limited cache of assets has most believing they can't land Giannis.
The Knicks cannot trade a first-round pick until the offseason, at which time they can dangle two: whomever they select in 2026, and their 2033 selection. While they have various ways to match salary, none of their players are up-and-coming stars. Anyone they build a deal around would be well north of 25.
At the same time, the Milwaukee Bucks own draft-pick situation is dicey. They do not control their own first-rounder until 2031, a reality that could prompt (force?) them to consider packages stocked with players who help keep them relevant.
New York’s top offers get more appealing under those circumstances, though that’s still largely due to Antetokounmpo’s own interest in them. And if the Bucks do end up sending their megastar to the Knicks, Bridges is the player who has the most value.
Anunoby and KAT could be too pricey for the Bucks
Plenty of people will make that case that Anunoby or Karl-Anthony Towns do more to drive winning. That case is strong.
Anunoby is a front office’s fever dream—a (virtually) every-position defender who spaces the floor on offense without requiring the ball. Towns packs a generational offensive punch for someone his size, not just because of his touch from distance, but because of his live-dribble scoring, which scales to drives teeming with on-ball dexterity.
Still, both OG and KAT have one thing in common: They’re not far off from expensive contract decisions.
Towns is eligible for an extension until the start of the regular season. Anunoby will be up for one next summer. KAT has a player option in 2027, with OG's coming the following offseason.
After acquiring either of them, Milwaukee would almost immediately need to decide whether they warrant reinvestment. And even if their next contracts don’t pay as much, they will still cost a pretty penny.
Mikal Bridges’ contract offers more flexibility
Bridges, who can be traded beginning February 1, is more cost controlled. The Knicks received some heat for signing him to a four-year, $150 million deal, but that criticism is misplaced. He could have fetched loads more on the open market next summer.
Now, Bridges will be playing out his age-30 season when the extension takes effect. He isn’t someone the Bucks can treat as an open-ended cornerstone. But he fits alongside anyone,. There's also something to be said about having someone who is no worse than an elite three-and-D wing under contract at what may never be a top-50 salary through 2029-30 (player option).
Landing Bridges should be even more valuable to Milwaukee than the Knicks’ 2033 first. New York could be a lottery team by then, but that pick doesn’t help the Bucks anytime soon, unless they plan on trading it. If they hold onto it, general manager Jon Horst has to know he won’t be the person making the selection. That inherently drives down its value.
Don’t take this to mean that Milwaukee won’t push for more than Bridges. It will. It should. The overall point is that, if the Knicks do snag Giannis, Bridges will be more critical to their package than anyone else on the roster.