Giannis trade rumor might lead to heist on par with Luka Doncic disaster

Shams Charania of ESPN noted that Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent are pondering the superstar’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he also mentioned that the New York Knicks are the only team Antetokounmpo has shown an interest in. And since the Bucks are seemingly willing to do right by their franchise superstar, the Knicks could potentially get Antetokounmpo for a price that rivals how bad the Luka Doncic trade was for the Dallas Mavericks.

Obviously, there may be no trade in NBA history that is as bad as what the Mavs did with Doncic, sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers out of the blue. However, whatever package the Knicks send back for Antetokounmpo could be bad.

The mere fact that it could come close to the Doncic trade indicates just how bad it truly could be.

Giannis trade to Knicks could be almost as bad as Luka trade to Lakers

New York has a few picks they could send the Knicks’ way, so from that perspective, it’s better than the one that the Lakers gave Dallas. But if Antetokounmpo only wants to go there, then maybe they will end up strong-arming the Bucks into only giving up one or two.

But to make matters worse, none of the players who the Knicks could offer the Bucks in a trade are ideal for what the Bucks should be looking to do in the post-Antetokounmpo era.

A Knicks trade for Antetokounmpo will likely come down to one of a few packages, all of which involve at least one of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby.

Outside of the fact that all of those guys could probably be traded onward to another team for more draft picks, none are inherently valuable to the Bucks because they’re all approaching 30.

Milwaukee should want to add young talent. They should poach Stephon Castle from the San Antonio Spurs. VJ Edgecombe from the Philadelphia 76ers. Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard, and Tari Eason from the Houston Rockets.

Towns, Anunoby, and Bridges likely wouldn’t be in the Bucks’ long-term plans, and when you’re trading a franchise superstar and entering a rebuild, you want to focus on the long-term.

On top of that, all three of those guys make so much money that trading them could be way harder than it meets the eye. Even when the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns, they only got back Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a future first.

Injury issues are a problem, but purely on the court, Davis is a much better player than any of the three guys New York could end up sending to the Bucks. 

Add in the fact that they could run into a similar problem trading them to the one the Mavs have run into with Davis (because of the money), and the trade could be a disaster for the Bucks.