Knicks Trade Idea Lands Team Two Former NBA Champions
Feb 3, 2026
When the report came out this season that the New York Knicks almost landed Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer, everyone was shocked. The deal didn’t go through, but behind the scenes, the Knicks were looking to pull off the blockbuster trade.
Now that Giannis is more publicly on the trade market, the Knicks are once again in the mix. While the Knicks might no longer be the team best positioned to get him, they certainly have a chance.
ESPN recently proposed six different Giannis offers that could possibly get the deal done before the trade deadline, and their Knicks proposal is one of the stronger ones available.
“New York Knicks get:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jrue Holiday
Portland Trail Blazers get:
Karl-Anthony Towns
Mikal Bridges
Miles McBride
Milwaukee Bucks get:
Jerami Grant
Matisse Thybulle
Guerschon Yabusele
2026 first-round pick (from Wizards via Knicks, top-eight protected)
2029 first-round pick (best of Bucks, Trail Blazers and Celtics)
Return of 2030 swap rights (via Trail Blazers)
2030 pick swap via Knicks
2032 pick swap via Knicks…
This framework would check multiple boxes. In addition to sending Antetokounmpo to New York, it would give the Knicks a perfect backcourt complement to Jalen Brunson and reunite Antetokounmpo with Holiday a half-decade after they won a title together in Milwaukee. It would return to the Bucks two of the far-off future picks they sent to Portland (along with Holiday) in the ill-fated Damian Lillard trade, giving them flexibility in the post-Antetokounmpo era. And it would give a major boost to the Trail Blazers' roster as it seeks its first playoff berth since 2020–21. McBride might immediately become the best guard in Portland, and lineups with Bridges, Deni Avdija, Towns, and Donovan Clingan could excel on both ends."
This Knicks-Giannis trade only really works if the Bucks are dead set on getting their pick rights back from Portland. They won’t be receiving any interesting players in this framework, and the other picks aren’t all that interesting. This is why the Knicks trading for Giannis, at least at the midseason deadline, is very unlikely.
