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Having made their play for a marquee star, the New York Knicks may not be a serious contender to land Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in the event he’s in play for a trade, according to the New York Post‘s Stefan Bondy.
Bondy reported Sunday it’s “very unlikely” New York would make an enticing enough offer for Milwaukee since the team leveraged many of its best assets to get Mikal Bridges and then Karl-Anthony Towns.
The report came hours after NBA insider Marc Stein wrote that “the leaguewide lusting for Giannis has thus started anew” with the Bucks starting 1-5. He cited the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat as the teams constituting “a credible list” of suitors at this preliminary stage.
And rather than eliminating New York from the group, Stein reported that multiple rival teams “wonder aloud about whether having a player of Towns’ caliber on the roster for a potential future Antetokounmpo offer was among the Knicks’ motivations.”
Any pursuit of Antetokounmpo would require the Knicks to part with one of their four standout stars: Towns, Bridges, Jalen Brunson or OG Anunoby. Beyond their lack of trade assets, there’s simply no way they could afford to retain that quartet while assuming Giannis’ three-year, $175.4 million contract.
Acquiring Towns with an eye toward potentially flipping him down the road is some serious four-dimensional chess.
Teams trading away a franchise cornerstone are typically pivoting toward a rebuild. In the case of the Bucks, losing Antetokounmpo would allow them to replenish some of the draft capital they sacrificed to put their roster together.
How much appetite would Milwaukee have for Towns? He turns 29 this month and is three years away from free agency. He’s not somebody you orient your long-term future around anymore.
If the Bucks keep on their current trajectory, the trade chatter surrounding Antetokounmpo is going to hit a fever pitch.
The Knicks may come to regret having been so aggressive in trading for Towns and not waiting to see how the 2024-25 season unfolded.
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