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How San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks will approach potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Aaditya Krishnamurthy | Last updated Dec 4, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Both the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks find themselves raring to land Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the trade deadline.

Giannis Antetokounmpo looks set to be the big superstar trade this season. The Milwaukee Bucks forward is ready to move on from the franchise after 12 years.

Antetokounmpo voiced his frustration over the team’s poor start to the season, and has seemingly made up his mind on leaving the team.

Giannis has been unhappy since the summer after seeing the Milwaukee Bucks recklessly waived Damian Lillard to sign Myles Turner.

And it appears there are two teams that have their eye on the Greek Freak – the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks.

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Spurs and Knicks set to aggressively pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

According to Ashis Mathur of the Dallas Hoops Journal, the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are going to aggressively pursue a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Knicks made overtures for Antetokounmpo this summer, only to be turned down by the Bucks. As for the Spurs, they didn’t trade for Kevin Durant to keep the option of trading for Giannis open to them.

“The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs will aggressively pursue a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, NBA sources told Dallas Hoops Journal.

“The Knicks and Bucks discussed an Antetokounmpo trade before the season started. Antetokounmpo is very interested in playing for the Knickerbockers, sources said.

Should the New York Knicks go all-in on Giannis?

“If there was a team outside of Milwaukee, he wanted to play for the Knicks”
Shams Charania on Giannis Antetokounmpo

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“Meanwhile, one of the reasons the Spurs didn’t heavily pursue Kevin Durant in the offseason is that the front office wanted to save trade assets for Antetokounmpo, sources said.

“San Antonio has a bevy of draft picks it can offer to Milwaukee, plus young players such as Devin Vassell, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle.”

Should Giannis Antetokounmpo join the Knicks or the Spurs?

Given that both the Knicks and the Spurs have title aspirations this season, which team would be the better fit for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The Knicks are one of Giannis’ preferred destinations, as he wants to play for one of the biggest teams in NBA history.

Will Giannis want out of Milwaukee if the Bucks continue to lose?

Every team in the league would want to sign the former MVP and NBA Champion – where would you want to play if you were Giannis?

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However, the Spurs have the right assets to land Antetokounmpo, given that they have the right mix of young players and draft assets to sweeten the deal for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo must be careful and make the right decision, as his next team will define the remaining years of his career.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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