Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo made plenty of headlines at the start of the offseason due to tantalizing trade rumors. While those initial rumors have since cooled down, some teams, including the New York Knicks are still holding out hope that Antetokounmpo becomes available.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up that the Knicks are among the teams still monitoring Antetokounmpo’s status despite the notion that he will remain in Milwaukee.
“Teams like San Antonio, or Houston, or Miami, or New York, they specifically have stayed out of other major transactions to potentially chase Giannis,” Windhorst said.
The Knicks were also initially one of the teams interested in Kevin Durant before he was ultimately traded to the Houston Rockets. However, the Knicks backed out of the Durant chase rather early, perhaps due to the perceived notion that they can still land Antetokounmpo.
The two-time MVP is coming off of another superb individual season in which he averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game for the Bucks. With the Bucks bowing out in the first-round of the playoffs once again, and Damian Lillard expected to miss significant time next season, many have speculated that trading Antetokounmpo is a real possibility despite conflicting reports.
New York is in the market for a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Despite last season’s success, the Knicks aren’t satisfied, already electing to fire Tom Thibodeau from his head coaching duties, setting the tone for what could be an offseason of change in The Big Apple.
