Knicks fans must root for Giannis to stay in Milwaukee — here’s why
The New York Knicks’ dream of trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo is apparently still alive, but if it’s going to become reality, the team and its fans must cross their fingers for the two-time MVP to stick with the Milwaukee Bucks—through this offseason, anyway.
Upon first consideration, this runs completely counter to actually acquiring the 30-year-old megastar. Munch on it for a second, and it makes all the sense in the world.
Giannis staying in Milwaukee right now gives the Knicks another year to improve their best offer, and equally important, makes it more likely rival suitors explore other options.
The Knicks will have more assets available next summer
New York isn’t winning a bidding for Giannis’ services anytime soon. It will need his help to make any deal happen.
Still, the Knicks’ top offer will be much more appealing next summer. Right now, they cannot trade a single first-round pick. Next offseason, however, they will be able to deal their 2026 first, and their 2033 first-rounder. They’ll also have swaps in 2028, 2030, and 2032 that they can offer to Milwaukee—or to other teams who might be willing to send the Bucks outright first-rounders in exchange for those Knicks swaps.
This is a huge deal. It beats out New York’s current best offer by a factor of two first-rounders. That is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but if you’re a franchise planning around the future, gaining control of the Knicks’ first-rounders from basically 2030 onward represents a glittery mystery box of possibility.
Constructing a trade package also gets easier for the Knicks next offseason. Karl-Anthony Towns currently has to headline any package, unless they’re planning to give up multiple rotation players. Next year, however, the should-be inevitable Mikal Bridges extension will have him on the books at a higher (but still palatable) number. Mitchell Robinson’s salary could also be higher if the Knicks extend him, or he can be folded into the deal via sign-and-trade.
Basically, New York will have a cleaner path to matching Giannis’ superstar salary next summer than at any point this offseason, or during the 2025-26 campaign.
Giannis’ list of realistic suitors will change over the next year
During an appearance on Get Up, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the Knicks, Miami Heat, and San Antonio Spurs all repressed their offers for Kevin Durant because they’re waiting on Giannis’ availability (h/t RealGM). Fast forward another season, though, and the latter two could have already pivoted to someone else.
Maybe San Antonio gives De’Aaron Fox a max extension, and adds more expensive role players or acquires another star, making it less likely they can fit Antetokounmpo into its long-term salary structure. Miami isn’t guaranteed to have a better offer than New York for Giannis right now. It could do something rash over the next year, or even steer into a rebuild that would remove it from the running.
Heck, the current delay surrounding Giannis’ future has technically already helped the Knicks. The Houston Rockets were considered a Bogeyman in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. While they still have the assets to be aggressive, trading for and eventually extending KD will seriously alter their cap sheet. The Oklahoma City Thunder have the picks to trade for anyone, but they’re unlikely to do anything seismic once extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren kick in next season.
To say the Knicks are sitting pretty when it comes to a prospective Giannis deal would be a massive stretch. But the Antetokounmpo-to-New York fantasy gets easier to actualize if he stays put for another season. Something as ostensibly simple as that is a massive development on the pipe-dream scale—and one for which Knicks fans should be rooting hard.