Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the three best basketball players on the planet, and when a player of that caliber names the Knicks as a potential destination of interest, it would be malpractice not to immediately make a call. While that is well and true, once you start thinking about what it would take to land the former MVP, it isn't a stretch to say they could be better off without him.
In a vacuum, Antetokounmpo makes any team in the league better. He's won an MVP and been named to nine All-NBA teams for a reason. In the same breath, a player of the caliber comes with a price tag, and a big one at that. Acquiring the Greek Freak this season is highly unlikely, and to do so would mean gutting the roster.
A major roster shakeup
To pry Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks would likely need to move on from multiple starters, such as Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby, with one of them likely going to a third team to acquire enough draft capital to move the needle.
As James Edwards III of The Athletic noted, "I’m not sure a “Big 3” of Brunson, Antetokounmpo, and Bridges makes New York that much better, if at all, if it means piecing the rest of the roster together with a slew of minimum players and unproven youngsters."
The Knicks did some nice work this offseason to increase the depth of their rotation and bench around a unit that just went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Is it really smart to tear that apart before getting the chance to see how it does?
The Knicks just lost because of a lack of depth
The Knicks just lost in the Eastern Conference Finals after their starters logged nearly 1,000 minutes together in the regular season. They looked gassed trying to deal with the depth and relentless ball pressure that the Indiana Pacers threw their way.
Would a team of Antetokounmpo, Brunson, and Bridges, with the surrounding pieces being guys on veteran minimum contracts, be enough to defeat some of the Western Conference juggernauts? The Phoenix Suns went all-in to assemble a big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal before tearing it all down a couple of seasons later.
It isn't exactly apples to apples, but the league is trending towards depth and away from the top-heavy "big threes" that we saw fail in recent years in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. The Knicks would be better off seeing this season through and then re-evaluating things next offseason.