NBA Trade Rumors: 4 Monster Giannis deals to jump-start Bucks into rebuild

The New York Knicks acquire Giannis

I'm not sure if the New York Knicks would still be interested in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, especially after the big moves for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns this past offseason, but let's entertain the idea of this considering they've been interested in such a move in the past. One thing we have to understand when it comes to a potential pursuit of Giannis for the Knicks is that they don't have a ton of draft capital to include in a deal, and that could make a deal coming to fruition that much more difficult.

Nevertheless, any deal for Giannis is likely going to have to begin with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, or OG Anunoby. If I had to guess, my prediction would be that the Knicks would begin to build such a deal around Anunoby. He plays a similar game to Giannis and would fill the same position on the team. It wouldn't make a ton of sense to keep Anunoby if they're acquiring Giannis. Once that has been decided, the Knicks have to include more salary to make the deal work, that's where Mitchell Robinson could make sense. Robinson has had some injury concerns but is a talented young center who could provide value for a rebuilding Bucks.

The Knicks don't have a ton of draft capital that they can include but the 2025 first-round pick (via Detroit) could add some value to this package. And, of course, without other straight-up draft picks to include, the Knicks could add pick swaps to attempt to make this offer more appealing. The Bucks would get a strong building block in Anunoby and, if they wanted, they could trade him to acquire more draft capital for the future. This is not an ideal return for Giannis but Anunoby is one of the most underrated two-way stars in the league.

The Knicks would have a new core of Jalen Brunson, Bridges, Giannis, and KAT. I'm not sure how feasible it is for New York to keep three core players while making a move for Giannis, but you can bet that if the perennial All-Star does hit the trade block, the Knicks will pursue such a possibility. How likely is such a move? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks opted against such a pursuit.