Knicks 'Presumed' to Have Interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade

The New York Knicks have reportedly shown interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo before. It doesn't appear they'll be bucking that trend any time soon.

Antetokounmpo, still repping the Milwaukee Bucks for the time being, may not be partaking in the ongoing FIBA Basketball World Cup but the two-time NBA MVP's future is back in the headlines after curious comments to Tania Ganguli of The New York Times ... ones that hinted he would depart from the deer if he felt they were not built to win a championship.

"I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do," Antetokounmpo said. "If I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”

If Antetokounmpo does go that route, NBA insider Marc Stein has pegged the Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers as the teams most likely to vie for his services, particularly in a trade that could come next summer.

“The Lakers and the Knicks are already being mentioned as franchises presumed to interest Antetokounmpo down the road if he does decide to move on from Milwaukee," Stein said. "(The Bucks) just made a slew of moves (re-signing Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and replacing Mike Budenholzer as coach with Adrian Griffin) to try to appease its face of the franchise.”

The Knicks reportedly sought to re-add Antetokounmpo's brother Thansis to their fold earlier this offseason but things could get quite "freaky" if Milwaukee endures another early exit from the NBA Playoffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo guided the Bucks to a championship in 2021, ending a 50-year drought for the franchise. Since then, Milwaukee has reached the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, stretching an active postseason streak to seven years (second-best in the NBA behind Boston's nine). Heartbreak has derailed the road to a repeat, however: last season, for example, saw the top-seeded Bucks fall to eighth-ranked Miami in the opening round of last year's playoffs. One year prior, Milwaukee dropped a seven-game set to Boston in the conference semifinals.

Set to become a free agent in 2025, Antetokounmpo has been labeled a potential trade candidate for next summer. The Knicks seem content with running back last year's lineup for the most part (with the exception of Donte DiVincenzo replacing the traded Obi Toppin in the nine-man rotation) but their united stockpiling of draft picks and young assets have led observers to believe that they're planning a transaction that would undeniably thrust them into the contention conversation in the Eastern Conference.

Competition from the City of Angels, however, will likely prove stiff: any big move the Lakers make will likely be in service of creating one more series of title runs for aging superstar LeBron James. Los Angeles is coming off a Western Conference Finals run from the seventh seed and recently brought in former Knick Cam Reddish and recent New York playoff foe Gabe Vincent to work alongside James and Anthony Davis. 

The Knicks have prime opportunities to shake Antetokounmpo's faith in Milwaukee this season: New York's battles with the Bucks have been granted priority time-slotting this season. The two sides will open both NBA In-Season Tournament group play on Nov. 3 and the Association's annual Christmas Day slate on Dec. 25.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags