The New York Knicks are expected by their own team governor to make the NBA Finals this season, something 28 franchises fail to accomplish every single year. But on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the show's titular host and guest Zach Lowe might have just accidentally made the case for the 2026 NBA offseason being a Costanza-like "Summer of the Knicks."
While discussing the future of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, the pair of NBA analysts outlined a scenario where if the Knicks don't perform up to expectations in the playoffs, they might just make a "panic move" and add the 2021 Finals MVP to their roster.
Simmons, Lowe think the Knicks are in for a big summer
"And the Knicks would be the other team," Simmons said of potential next destinations for Antetokounmpo. "A terrible Knicks exit, combined with Giannis being the panic-move this summer," the host told Lowe.
While the "middle" possibility of the Knicks neither winning the championship nor landing Antetokounmpo in a trade certainly exists, Lowe made crystal clear that he's still "all in" on New York when it comes to their performance on the court, countering the notion that they could be bound for a "terrible" exit from the 2026 playoffs.
"I remain strangely optimistic about the Knicks. ... Their on-paper dossier is rock-solid, they've won six games in a row. When it feels bad, it feels real bad. But I remain on: why can't the Knicks make the Finals? Like, I'm in. I'm still in," Lowe declared on Simmons' show.
Whether the team's success comes in the form of an NBA Finals appearance, their first since 1999 and with an official designation of having met their governor's high expectations, or after the season in the form of an acquisition of one of the best players in the league, it was hard not to notice that the duo of analysts didn't leave much room for the Knicks to produce an ultimately negative result.
The hypothetical trade for Antetokounmpo being framed as a "panic move" implies that the Knicks will surrender "too much" to acquire the superstar, which is hard to imagine given the market for players of his stature and the team's general lack of draft capital.
If Giannis heads to the Knicks, it's going to be in part because he made clear that he wants to land there – and the price paid by New York reflects that lack of leverage on the part of Milwaukee. That'll be a win for the Knicks and their front office, even if it comes on the heels of a playoff loss.