One potential downside of the New York Knicks doling out an historic butt-kicking to the Atlanta Hawks is that it may compel A-Town’s finest to join the hunt for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
On second thought, never mind. The Hawks have already removed themselves from the Giannis sweepstakes.
According to Jake Fischer over at The Stein Line, despite going out sad against the Knicks, Atlanta has given “no indication” that it’s got “designs on pursuing Antetokounmpo.” The Hawks, Fischer goes on to explain, are “not eager to splurge for major roster additions, preferring to focus on internal improvement, and addressing the futures of CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga.”
This is, in no uncertain terms, great news for the Knicks.
The Hawks were a sneaky-serious threat to the Knicks’ Giannis pursuit
New York already needs plenty of help if it’s going to land the two-time MVP. It will have only two first-round picks to trade outright this summer (2026 and 2033), which pales in comparison to what most of the other usual suspects can offer.
Giannis can tip the scales in the Knicks’ favor, and arguably already has. But there is no overcoming packages that give back the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round picks. They currently don’t control their own selection again until 2031.
Atlanta joins the Portland Trail Blazers as one of two teams who can offer such a lifeline. It is slated to get the most favorable of the Bucks’ and New Orleans Pelicans’ picks this year, and will have the least favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s first-rounders in 2027, with top-four protection.
Granted, we have no way of knowing where the Hawks’ 2026 pick from the Bucks or Pelicans lands until after the draft lottery. And the rights to the 2027 selection may be overblown. Yet, the Pelicans already project to be bad again next season. The same will be true of the Bucks if they trade Giannis. Both selections will likely be in the high-to-mid lottery.
The Knicks can’t compete with that. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like they’ll have to. The Blazers are a different story. They control the rights to Milwaukee’s first in 2028, 2029, and 2030. They also have interest in trading for Giannis, according to Fischer.
New York can’t compete with Portland’s best offer, either. Luckily for the Knicks once again, this feels like a remote threat. As Fischer also notes, the Blazers will need to convince Giannis they can rival the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, otherwise he’s more likely to prefer alternative destinations.
Yeah, the Knicks have bigger fish to fry, but…
This stuff still matters.
The Knicks are currently focused on beating the Philadelphia 76ers, and navigating the seemingly clear path to the Finals paved before them. But they are also up against championship-or-bust expectations for the same reason. And of course, because James Dolan unequivocally, beyond a shadow of a doubt said so.
Substantive changes will be made if New York’s season ends before the Finals. And even that might not be enough to stave off big swings.
Ergo, Giannis’ future remains a subplot the Knicks must monitor. They should hope their links to him don’t become more than hypothetical, because that means they won it all. In the event things don’t play out that way, though, New York has one fewer potential Giannis competitor to worry about.
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