New York Knicks Monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Situation With Milwaukee Bucks ‘Very Closely’

The New York Knicks are monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s situation with the Milwaukee Bucks “very closely,” according to NBA reporter James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

If Antetokounmpo requests a trade from the Bucks, the Knicks will likely pursue the NBA superstar very hard.

New York made the conference finals last season for the first time since 2000. The Knickerbockers lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

“It is my understanding that Leon Rose and company have been monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s situation in Milwaukee very closely, even before the offseason started,” Edwards III wrote. “Many around the league believe the Knicks are interested in star hunting, and while that opportunity hasn’t popped up yet, I certainly believe it’s in the cards if the right situation presents itself.”

Antetokounmpo is still evaluating his future with the Bucks, who haven’t won a postseason series since 2022. Milwaukee has lost to Indiana in the first round of the playoffs two years in a row.

A future Hall of Famer, Antetokounmpo will make $54.1 million next season. The Bucks signed The Greek Freak to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023. There is no no-trade clause in the contract.

“As we sit here on August 4, sources tell me there is nothing set in stone about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to stay in Milwaukee or whether he wants to leave elsewhere,” NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN said. “He’s been evaluating his future this entire offseason. I reported way back in mid-May that he’s open-minded about whether his best fit is in Milwaukee or is it a trade elsewhere.”

Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP, a one-time Finals MVP, a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All-Star. He has career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks with the Bucks, who don’t believe their best player is going anywhere.

“We have no indication that anything is really changing as far as our relationship with the player we think is the best in the world,” a Bucks front office executive told NBA reporter Keith Smith of Spotrac. “We rebuilt on the fly, in a really challenging situation, but we think we did it as well as it could be done.”