Insiders wonder if Knicks missed Giannis trade amid Jrue Holiday, Blazers talk

Amide Milwaukee Bucks All-Star trade rumors Giannis Antetokounmpothe New York Knicks have been linked to a potential deal for him, with rumors of a move to the Portland Blazers Jrue Holiday. However, as we approach the trade deadline, skepticism is growing about the Knicks acquiring Holidayas NBA fans wonder if Antetokounmpo could be headed to New York.

If so, the Knicks will most likely need it a third team to help facilitate trade for Antetokounmpo, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

“Is there a multi-team deal the Knicks could make with Portland — who control Milwaukee’s draft picks from 2028-30 thanks to the original Lillard trade — to get Antetokounmpo (and maybe even Jrue Holiday) so they could give the Bucks the kind of league draft compensation that would be a hot topic for Milwaukee? insiders as of the weekend,” Stein said.

However, as things have evolved between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, others are wondering if the Knicks’ opportunity to trade for Greek Freik has passed.

“There are also some well-placed observers who wonder if the Knicks may have missed their deadline to acquire Antetokounmpo … as a complicated multi-team trade is realistically their only path to a viable deal,” Stein added.

“The Knicks don’t have a first-round pick of their own to trade as we talk and share the complications of Minnesota’s luxury tax, so they would undoubtedly be rooting for Milwaukee to take their time here and wait out the offseason.”

The Knicks need a third team to facilitate the Giannis trade

The bright lights of Madison Square Garden and The Knicks are bringing Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. For a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, the Knicks are hoping to continue last year’s run, with Antetokounmpo a prospect for the remainder of the 2025-26 regular season.

However, the Knicks will have to give up two of their key players, including All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, as noted by NBA Insider Marc Stein.

“If the Bucks end up deciding they want to do it next week, that multi-team trade that New York needs would almost certainly require them to trade Towns and Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby in a few days,” Stein said. “Which would represent a dramatic restructuring on the fly of the roster that New York painstakingly put together.”

Still, the Knicks might have one advantage over other potential suitors for the Bucks’ Antetokounmpo: their arena, Madison Square Garden.

“It has long been assumed that Antetokounmpo has a strong interest in playing in Madison Square Garden in front of the NBA’s most fervent fans and accepting the challenge, as he did as a Buck, to lead the franchise to its first championship in more than 50 years,” added Stein. “Still, it’s unclear whether the Knicks and everything that comes with playing in Gotham appeals today in the same way it was thought to tempt Antetokounmpo in August.”

The NBA trade deadline is February 5.