Giannis Antetokounmpo, the consensus top-five player in the world, former MVP, and NBA champion, has been linked to the Knicks for quite a while now. It started with analysts wondering what Giannis in New York could look like, and slowly, but surely, it evolved into full-blown rumors that both sides were interested.
Now, we don’t know the full picture in terms of the level of interest, the timelines, and the likelihood.
Outside of the few people involved in the situation, we can only speculate, decipher
quotes, and try to decipher body language as if we were detectives. But the Antetokounmpo-Knicks rumor has become the latest white background noise of the NBA rumor mill, and for many, it has become somewhat tiresome and old. Yet, the prospect of pairing Jalen Brunson up with one of the best players in the world, and bringing said player to the self-proclaimed Mecca of Basketball, has kept up the hopes of a handful of fans.
And for those fans, Monday presented even more anticipation coming in the shape of Marc Stein’s Substack, The Stein Line. In it, the NBA writer wrote about how there have been rumblings about the Knicks wanting in on former Buck, Jrue Holiday. New York believes that the veteran point guard would be a great backcourt complement to Brunson, given his ability to both play on the ball and off the ball, and of course, his great point-of-attack defense. But the Knicks presumably want Holiday for another reason. And that’s where the Greek Freak comes in.
The Knicks are under the assumption that if they weren’t the most attractive option for Antetokounmpo, bringing Holiday, a teammate the big man has praised time and time again, would solidify them as such.
Acquiring the pair sounds great on paper, but there’s still a lot to consider. It would pretty much signal the end of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges’ time as a Knick. They’d also have to part ways with Guerschon Yabusele, as well as Pacome Dadiet, and or Tyler Kolek. It would also likely mean having to trade for a starting center as historically, Antetokounmpo doesn’t spend much time playing the five, and operates the best when he is paired with a stretch center.
Those all don’t sound like the biggest or worst problems to have, if it means finding a way to roll out a roster consisting of Brunson, Holiday, OG Anunoby, Antetokounmpo, a starting center, Mitchell Robinson, Deuce McBride, and Josh Hart. But that’s still a lot of moving parts, and it only gets done if James Dolan, and Leon Rose feel that the current roster can’t win, and it’s worth potentially lowering the floor of what Dolan himself called a championship-or-bust season.
With the February 5th trade deadline now just nine days away, what do you think the Knicks do? Will they keep the roster, make marginal moves, and hope they can return to their early-season form? Or will they make a big move and hope that the change will be worth potentially taking steps back in the short run?
