The New York Knicks are the betting favorite to acquire Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo if the circumstance presents itself this summer.
Knicks are narrow favorites for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bovada Sportsbook has the Knicks as +400 favorites to land Antetokounmpo. Right below them are the Brooklyn Nets with +450 odds. The next three teams in the Miami Heat (+600), Los Angeles Lakers (+800), and Los Angeles Clippers (+900) all received favorable odds in the top five (h/t NBA Central).
Per Forbes’ Evan Sidery, ESPN’s Shams Charania detailed the situation involving Antetokounmpo in the following manner:
“@ShamsCharania says the Bucks need to make a deep postseason run this season in order to show Giannis Antetokounmpo they can be a sustained long-term winner,” Sidery published on X on Thursday. “If Giannis believes Milwaukee is no longer a place he can win a title, he will look elsewhere.”
Knicks have the assets to entice the Bucks for a trade
A player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber doesn’t become available for trade often. Thus, New York would have a chance to add a proven NBA champion from 2021, a former two-time league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
What the “Greek Freak” brings to the table on both sides of the floor is worth the Knicks considering moving off of anyone on their roster. New York could go multiple avenues.
The franchise could package two-way stars Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Miles McBride along with a future first-round and future second-round pick to entice Milwaukee. They would match the $119.8 million that Antetokounmpo is owed in the following two seasons before his player option in 2027-28, and then some.
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All three players show the potential to evolve into better players than they are right now. Bridges has already averaged 26.1 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign and could establish himself as a No. 2 option next to Bucks All-Star Damian Lillard. Anunoby would also have more free reign to score with the Bucks while being a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. As for McBride, he’d give Milwaukee a stout potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
On the other hand, New York could try to retain some assets by offering Karl-Anthony Towns as the centerpiece of a deal. Though Towns has been a top-five MVP candidate for much of the year, Antetokounmpo would be an upgrade on all fronts outside of three-point shooting.