Brian Windhorst says the Knicks could have had Giannis Antetokoumpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted during the offseason that he contemplated his future with the Milwaukee Bucks, and the team was reportedly willing to trade him under the right circumstances.

ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported in May that Antetokounmpo was open to playing for a team other than the Bucks for the first time in his career. Milwaukee received plenty of interest in Giannis, but it has since been revealed that the two-time NBA MVP only wanted to play for the New York Knicks if he were to be traded.

In an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” Tuesday morning, NBA reporter Brian Windhorst revealed that the Knicks could have had Giannis if they wanted the nine-time All-Star badly enough.

“I know everybody tried to whistle past the graveyard and try to pretend this didn’t happen, but you know that Giannis basically said he wanted to be a Knick? The Knicks have been waiting for 15 years to get somebody to say they want to be a Knick,” Windhorst said. “Because the Knicks built this team the way they did and whatever the offer that they made wasn’t good enough, Giannis is not a Knick.

“Now, I know that he says he’s gonna be in Milwaukee and everything, nobody denied that report. Those talks happened. The Knicks were in position to get Giannis and they didn’t get him, either because they didn’t offer enough and because they believe in this team, which is a totally acceptable answer.”