Fans woke up in a panic on Tuesday morning after seeing Shams Charania's tweet that the New York Knicks "emerged as the only team Giannis Antetokounmpo desired outside of Milwaukee in the offseason." It read like a follow-up tweet about the Knicks trading for Antetokounmpo.
Some fans might have been disappointed when they realized a trade hadn't happened, but it's a good thing one didn't. Why? Because New York would lose key players (like OG Anunoby) and gut its depth in the process. Antetokounmpo is otherworldly, but it turns out that depth is kind of important when it comes to winning a championship.
It would be different if the Knicks hadn't traded five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges last year, depleting their treasure chest of assets. They sent the Timberwolves a first-round pick in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade last October. If New York were still waiting to make its big move, maybe Giannis would be a Knick right now. There is no way of knowing for sure.
The Knicks are now in a position where shuffling the roster, even for a player like Giannis, could hurt their title hopes.
If only Giannis had expressed a desire to play for the Knicks sooner
New York is coming off its most successful season in over a decade, a run that ended in Game 7 of the conference finals. The Knicks are all-in on winning a championship, and they're in a good spot to win one.
There is no question that Giannis could help lead New York to a title alongside Jalen Brunson (the Bucks would try to ask for him), but what would the rest of the roster look like?
Anunoby (or Bridges, who can't be traded until February) would be gone. The Knicks could get more draft capital for Anunoby than for Bridges. Would it be enough? Karl-Anthony Towns would leave, too, whether that be to another team or Milwaukee.
What would New York's starting lineup look like? Antetokounmpo would be in it, for starters, as would Brunson. Would the bench be strong enough to help the team win the third championship that the entire city has been waiting for over 50 years? Those are only two of many questions that come along with an Antetokounmpo trade.
Giannis could've done the Knicks a favor by making it known at the end of the 2023-24 season that he wanted to play in New York, as a trade now would be pretty messy.