Will the New York Knicks enter next season with their current roster? They were only a few wins away from making the NBA Finals. In response, they fired their head coach, who the front office thought was holding the team back from their full potential. They are now set to enter next season with pretty much the same roster as last year.
However, Knicks trade rumors continue to swirl as many wonder if the Knicks will want to make bigger changes outside of a coaching switch.
One player who has been at the center of many of these Knicks trade rumors is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis hasn’t made a formal trade request. That hasn’t stopped many teams from keeping tabs on the star, waiting to make an offer the second he requests out of Milwaukee.
A Knicks-Giannis trade would make a ton of sense. The Knicks have long been trying to lure a star of Giannis’ caliber to New York. Now that they have their own star in Jalen Brunson, that possibility seems a lot more likely.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed one Knicks-Giannis trade that could work.
“New York Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Danny Wolf, 2026 first-round swap (NYK), 2028 first-round swap (worst of NYK and BKN), 2030 first-round swap (NYK)
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Josh Hart, 2026 second-round pick (MIL via NYK), 2026 second-round pick (MIN via NYK)
Why New York does it: Towns’ inability to man the center spot defensively reduces his overall value and renders the remaining three years and $171 million left on his deal a significant overpay. Antetokounmpo won’t offer anything close to the spacing KAT can, but he’s the vastly superior player in virtually every other area.
Landing Giannis for this package—which includes every first-round swap New York can offer—would be a massive windfall. Barring a specific “Knicks or nothing” request by Antetokounmpo, it’s hard to imagine this is anything close to the best package Milwaukee could get.”
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Hughes is right. Unless Giannis forces his way to the Knicks, this probably isn’t rich enough of a deal to get him. Still, it is definitely a possibility that Giannis would request a trade and list the Knicks as his preferred destination. If that happens, a trade Knicks-Giannis trade could look a lot like this.
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