The New York Knicks' interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo goes back years, but heated up this past summer when they reportedly had an exclusive negotiating window for the superstar. Many fans thought that Antetokounmpo's recent calf injury cemented his status as a Buck through at least the rest of this season, but one insider report suggests otherwise. Gery Woelfel tweeted on Monday that there are teams "more than willing to wait" on the Greek Freak's recovery after acquiring him in a potential deal.
Giannis could still be on the move ahead of the trade deadline
With the trade deadline coming up on February 5, the calf injury that Antetokounmpo suffered happened at a potentially pivotal time. The injury is supposed to sideline him for at least a month, which had fans thinking in its immediate wake that it would leave teams afraid of trading major assets for the 31-year-old superstar, opting instead to let him rehabilitate and finish out his season on the Bucks before revisiting things in the offseason.
However, Woelfel wrote on Monday afternoon that the injury might not be as much of an inhibition as many thought.
"Now that Antetokounmpo is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks, there’s a belief he won’t be traded before next Thursday’s NBA deadline. Don’t be so sure of that," Woelfel wrote on Twitter. "Some NBA officials insist the Bucks brass is fully aware of the trade offers by now and that there are teams more than willing to wait for Antetokounmpo to recover from a calf injury, knowing he’ll be fine well before the playoffs."
The scribe also passed along some perspective from the inside, quoting a member of a Western Conference team's front office with regard to a potential acquisition of Antetokounmpo despite his injury.
"Said a Western Conference player personnel guy: “Those teams that want Giannis can check out the medical reports and, if everything is OK, the injury won’t stop them from making a deal now," Woelfel wrote.
Knicks' best Giannis trade offer would have to come at the buzzer
The Knicks have been signaling since the start of the season that they're not in any rush to upend their roster as a means of acquiring the 2021 Finals MVP. However, recent struggles indicate that they're not above seriously looking into acquiring him mid-season.
A report from The Stein Line's Jake Fischer cited the Portland Trail Blazers' control of Bucks' draft picks, and their interest in New York's Mikal Bridges, as something to file away with regard to a potential three-team construction for a Giannis deal in the future.
The Knicks can't trade Bridges until February 1, though, because of the extension they signed him to over the offseason. While they certainly can move him ahead of the deadline, they can't officially agree to any deals involving the 29-year-old wing until there are just four days left before all 30 teams have to be done making moves.
It seems like there's a chance Giannis could land in New York ahead of the deadline. But it depends on a lot of moving parts winding up in a relatively unlikely configuration, especially given how little time there is going to be to put things together.