When it comes to the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes, the New York Knicks are expected to have the Milwaukee Bucks superstar's attention.
As the NBA Cup is wrapped up with the Knicks as champions, they remain in the conversation about the Greek Freak's future, but nothing seems to be changing just yet.
When it comes to the Knicks' side of the situation, SNY's Knicks Insider Ian Begley recently revealed that the Knicks seem to be patient on the trade front.
"I think certainly as we sit here today, you know, the Knicks are not in a rush to make a huge deal," Begley said on ‘The Putback'.
"I mean, the Alvarados and the Schroeders, they are significant trades, but they’re not a Giannis Antetokounmpo-level trade. I don’t think they’re in a rush to make a trade that significantly changes everything about their roster."
Is the Patient Game Right for the Knicks?
The NBA Cup doesn't exactly reveal the league's top contenders. So far, there hasn't been a Cup winner who followed with an NBA Championship win. Giannis knows that well.
However, you can't deny that the Knicks are one of the Eastern Conference's top contenders. That was clearly the case last year, when they made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They came up short against the Indiana Pacers, who took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the NBA Finals.
Through the first couple of months of the NBA season, the Knicks are 18-7. They trail only the Detroit Pistons, who have a 2.5-game lead for first place. The Toronto Raptors are the next team in line, trailing the Knicks by three games.
The Knicks are good, and could realistically be good enough to challenge the league's best in a series, which makes the patient game logical.
However, it's not lost on anybody that the Knicks have had eyes for Antetokounmpo well before his reps turned up the pressure on the Bucks. As long as Giannis is in trade rumors before the February deadline, the Knicks are going to have a link to him.
Neither side is rushing to a major move.
The Knicks might have some targets, but they are strong enough to compete at a high level with the current roster. They do not need to make any snap judgments.
As for Milwaukee, they are reportedly making last-ditch efforts to get Giannis another co-star before it's truly too late. The Antetokoumpo rumor train hasn't stopped rolling, but the two parties in Wisconsin don't seem to be headed towards a separation just yet.
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