The New York Knicks have some key decisions ahead of them as they enter the NBA offseason.
New York is coming off a successful season that saw them reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 but they fell two games short of reaching the NBA Finals after being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in six games.
The storied franchise then made a surprising decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau after their playoff exit and they now have a crucial coaching search ahead of them.
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jan 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shakes hands with New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau as he exits the game during the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
While finding a new head coach is the franchise’s top priority, they also have some decisions to make regarding their roster, especially after some of their stars struggled in the playoffs, including Karl-Anthony Towns.
Because of this, Towns has entered trade rumors and a recent mock trade by Bleacher Report has them sending him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo in a three-team deal that includes the Brooklyn Nets.
In the proposed trade, New York would acquire Giannis and Tyler Smith from the Bucks while the Bucks would receive Towns and the 36th overall pick in the 2025 draft from the Nets.
For Brooklyn, they would receive Pacome Dadiet from New York in the trade.
This is an interesting trade and one that does not make much sense for the Bucks as they would be letting go of Giannis for extremely cheap.
On the other side, the Knicks would come out of this trade as the likely clear winner as they would swap Towns and Dadiet for Giannis and a young big man in Smith who would give them more depth.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34)
© Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
While that may be the case, the Bucks would likely not agree to this trade and recent reports have mentioned that Giannis is likely to remain in Milwaukee this summer despite trade rumors, though that could still change.