It’s been a poorly kept secret in NBA circles that the New York Knicks have been closely monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s situation in Milwaukee. The interest has been real for years.
And, according to a recent report, the interest is mutual.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported the Bucks and the two-time MVP had discussions this summer centered around Antetokounmpo’s desire to be traded to New York if he and Milwaukee were going to part ways. The two teams talked, but nothing of great significance emerged from those discussions, league sources confirmed.
Knicks beat writer James L. Edwards III and national writer Fred Katz give their thoughts on a theoretical Antetokounmpo-to-the-Knicks move.
Are you surprised the two teams had a discussion?
Edwards: No, I’m not. The Knicks have been eying the statuses of several household NBA names over the years, per league sources, and Antetokounmpo is at the top of the list.
And it’s not a surprise Antetokounmpo prefers New York. He has spoken before about how much he enjoys visiting New York, playing at Madison Square Garden and his desire to win another NBA championship.
The only thing that surprises me is that, reportedly, the Bucks were willing to have a conversation about their star player with the Knicks, who don’t have the future capital to offer, which seems like a deal breaker for a team that would surely rebuild if it moved a player of Antetokounmpo’s stature.
In my head, the conversation went like this:
Giannis: “If you trade me, I’d like to go to New York.”
Jon Horst, Bucks general manager: “OK, let me call them and see what they have to offer.”
Leon Rose, Knicks president: “Hey, Jon! Finally ready to trade Giannis?”
Horst: “No, but I’ll hear what you have to offer …”
Rose: “You can have Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and a bunch of bad picks.”
Horst: *click*
Katz: How could I be? Just because the Knicks depleted themselves of first-round picks in trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t mean they can’t operate with optimism.
If one trait describes this Knicks’ front office, it is diligence. New York is notoriously known for calling around the league, gauging the market from stars to scrubs. More than once, I’ve spoken with executives from other franchises who pondered: Did some call with the Knicks stem from genuine interest in trading for a player? Or was New York just doing its homework?
This is the Knicks’ modus operandi, especially when the player is the one naming them, as ESPN reported.
It’s worth noting that one of the reasons the Knicks’ eventual extension with Bridges did not get done was because the front office was waiting on Antetokounmpo.
Once Bridges signed, he wouldn’t become trade-eligible for six months. The last thing they wanted was to pay Bridges, then learn they could have had Antetokounmpo if only they had been more patient.
So, they waited … until they couldn’t anymore, agreeing to a deal with Bridges early enough so they could trade him before February’s deadline.
They had realized Antetokounmpo wasn’t going anywhere.
Antetokounmpo is one of the world’s greatest players, one of the few dynamos whose mere presence guarantees his team 40-something victories. New York is devoid of first-round picks (no, that heavily protected Washington Wizards one is never conveying; it will become two second-rounders after this season). It doesn’t employ an enticing, young prospect.
On its face, the Knicks’ offer for Antetokounmpo couldn’t hold up against loaded, hypothetical ones from the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs or others. Of course, neither the Knicks nor the Bucks live in a vacuum.
The Bucks would likely receive better offers from other NBA teams to aid in any post-Giannis plans. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Why would Bucks trade Giannis to Knicks?
Edwards: I don’t have an idea of what the Bucks’ post-Giannis plan is, but I can’t imagine they would trade him without trying to rebuild immediately. And that’s where a straight-up trade with the Knicks doesn’t make any sense to me.
New York gave away the large majority of its interesting draft capital last summer when it traded four unprotected first-round picks, an unprotected pick swap, a protected first-round and a second-round pick for Bridges. The Knicks currently have pick swaps in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 (2026 and 2028 aren’t enticing as New York plans on competing for an NBA title over the next few years; a 2026 protected first-round pick via Washington (the Wizards will make sure it becomes a second-round pick) and a bunch of second-round picks.
The Bucks are better served by sending Antetokounmpo elsewhere to get maximum value.
Additionally, according to the report, the conversations between the two teams occurred in August. Bridges signed his extension on Aug. 1, making him ineligible to be traded until just before the trade deadline. So, assuming Jalen Brunson is off the table, the Knicks would have had to move a combination of Towns, Anunoby and Hart. The combination of those players and bottom-of-the-barrel picks, in my opinion, isn’t blowing the Bucks away.
I have a tough time seeing how the Knicks could land Antetokounmpo without at least one more team being involved. New York would need someone to take and offer multiple first-round picks for whoever they sent out and then those picks would have to go to Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo has done a great deal for the Bucks. Still, Horst should consider sending him to a team that will allow them to acquire pieces to properly jump-start a rebuild and enable Antetokounmpo to compete for a title.
Katz: It’s important to note that we’re not talking about a hypothetical midseason trade for Antetokounmpo. Because of salary-cap quirks, trading a two-time MVP on such a large salary is a far easier task to pull off in the offseason than it is before February’s deadline. If the Knicks got in on Antetokounmpo, it wouldn’t be until next year.
All of James’ points are correct.
An offer from the Rockets or Spurs, laced with young players and bundles of first-rounders, would outdo any proposal from the Knicks.
Depending on how the details of particular draft minutiae turn out, the Atlanta Hawks could own up to two Bucks first-round picks, which Milwaukee could covet, considering it’s less incentivized to rebuild with so much of its draft future already on the table.
These are all better offers in a vacuum.
However, as I said before, we don’t live in a vacuum. And while the Knicks would be an unlikely bet, they have to consider themselves at least in the game.
What if Antetokounmpo’s first choice is New York, and the Bucks honor his wishes, doing right by the man who brought them their first title in decades?
What if Antetokounmpo, who can hit free agency after next season, goes into the summer understanding he has all the leverage? If he makes it clear he would re-sign with only one team, then that could depress his value on the trade market. What if that one team were the Knicks?
What if the Bucks have no appetite to bottom out, especially when they don’t possess control of their own first-round pick until 2031? What if, because of that, they prefer a package made up of players who keep them competitive instead of higher-risk young guys? All of a sudden, the delta between the Knicks’ offer and some others isn’t as vast.
What if the Knicks find ways to acquire the picks they lost in the Bridges and Towns trade? Desmond Bane, who has never been an all-star, just went for four first-rounders because the Orlando Magic dubbed him the missing piece. Couldn’t another organization view someone like Anunoby similarly next summer?
Maybe Anunoby goes to a third team, a trove of picks goes to the Bucks and the Knicks send matching salary to complete the deal.
The NBA is unpredictable. The Knicks could produce beautiful basketball this season and decide to develop their current core further. Or they could disappoint, realize an inevitable rise into the second apron the following season is not worth the expense, and reconstruct the roster on the fly.
Crazier stuff has happened.
Brown on Giannis trade stuff: “I don’t get into that stuff. We’re in a great spot right now. … I love our guys.”
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) October 7, 2025
Should Knicks want Giannis?
Edwards: I can’t believe I’m going to say this … No.
Well, yes, they should want Giannis, but not at this point, not with what it would cost to maybe, possibly get him.
In this first- and second-apron world, team building/depth appears to be more critical than ever. The winners of the East and West last season were two of the deeper teams in the NBA. The Knicks would have to part ways with, at least, two starting-level players, and possibly more, to enter the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. 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.
Of course, we won’t know what the current Knicks can do until we see this season play out. Ask me again a year from now. However, this team just went to the Eastern Conference finals. It kept its core together while addressing the depth around the margins. Things are looking up.
Currently, New York has four players who would start on every team in the NBA, and three more who would start on some of them. The East is struggling badly due to key injuries to rival teams. The Knicks are in a great spot to get to the NBA Finals.
Antetokounmpo would be great for dollars. He’d be great on the court, too. He’s one of the best players in the NBA. I think New York is in a position to obtain its goals without him. I don’t see the need to throw their future completely away and risk messing up the present when the present, as it is now, appears to be in good shape.
Katz: It doesn’t matter, because the answer will make itself apparent by the end of this season.
If the Knicks jell under new coach Mike Brown and run away with the Eastern Conference, Antetokounmpo might not be worth all the team has to give up to get him. However, if they disappoint, adding a generational talent who’s in his 30s but still at the height of his powers is rarely a problem.
It depends not just on the results of the season but also on which strengths and weaknesses emerge. For example, if the Knicks have a magical season and then lose early due to unfortunate injury luck, they might curse the basketball gods.
However, if the Hawks bounce them in the second round because Trae Young continues to pound Brunson and Towns in pick-and-rolls, then the Knicks could have second thoughts about their All-Star pairing.
Until the end of the season, why shouldn’t the Knicks keep their options open, even if their path to Antetokounmpo is bumpy compared to San Antonio’s or Houston’s? When an all-time great puts you on the list, you make sure to stay on the list.
