As the NBA offseason approaches, trade speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo is once again heating up. The Milwaukee Bucks had the opportunity to trade him during the trade deadline, but they wanted to hold onto him until the offseason with the hope of getting more value. Multiple teams are interested in the two-time MVP, and among those teams, the New York Knicks are also in the mix. However, a certain Knicks legend believes that the Greek Freak ain’t coming to New York.

Knicks legend John Starks doesn’t believe that Giannis will be moving to New York this offseason, despite the Knicks being a fantastic franchise and being in a great position at the moment. “Giannis is not coming. He’s not coming,” Starks said in his recent appearance on Front Office Sports podcast. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure if he was going to leave Milwaukee because he’s such a loyal individual, and I respect that about him, because he could have left any time doing that before they won the championship. He said, no, just give me some players put around me, and I’ll bring you a championship and he delivered on his promise. I respect players like that. You don’t want to see guys jumping from team to team searching and what have you.”

Starks highlights how the Knicks are a great franchise, but things can go south very easily in New York when the franchise is not winning. “New York is the greatest city ever when you win it, but if you ain’t win it, it could be a tough city for you, but I think everybody wants to be in a big market. Giannis definitely wants to be in a big market, obviously, but you have to win, too, on top of that. We’re a very attractive organization right now, thanks to Leon (Rose) and Wes (William Wesley) and everybody that’s involved in the front office of putting together a great team to be able to have players want to come and play for us,” he added. 

According to several reports, the Knicks were a team that Giannis wanted to join previously. However, the Bucks have clearly stated their demand to secure blue-chip young talent and/or surplus draft picks in exchange for the 31-year-old star. The Knicks have none of those. None of the Knicks’ stars are young talent, and neither of their young players is a blue-chip talent. So basically, they have to match or exceed his $54.1 million salary. If they decide to part ways with Karl-Anthony Towns, then he alone makes $53.1 million, and they could add a few picks to sweeten the deal.

However, if they intend to keep the duo of Jalen Brunson and Towns intact and add Giannis as a third superstar to the roster, then things get really complicated. The Knicks could aggregate smaller contracts of OG Anunoby, who is making $39.6 million this season, Miles Bridges ($24.9 million), Josh Hart ($19.5 million), and Mitchell Robinson ($13 million).

Alternatively, the Knicks could offer their 2026 first-round pick and 2033 first-round pick to Milwaukee. The 2033 pick has real value as Brunson will be 37 by then, and Giannis will be close to 39 years old. So if the Knicks throw in those two picks into the mix, that instantly makes the trade much simpler. However, it also depends on what the Bucks get from other franchises in exchange for their star forward.

Overall, if they manage to get the move through, it could be exceptional for the Knicks. Pairing Giannis with Brunson instantly makes the Knicks a contender for the Championship. While Brunson will run the offense, the Greek Freak will contribute on both ends of the court and also through his leadership. It has been a forgettable season for Giannis with the knee injury, but generally, he is pretty healthy. He is easily one of the best players in the league, and wherever he goes, he will instantly elevate them into contenders.

However, podcaster and sportswriter Bill Simmons doesn’t have the same belief around Giannis as he discourages teams from chasing the Greek Freak, as he is already 31 and with uncertainties around his knee injury, he is skeptical if teams will get the same dominant star that he once was before the injury.

Bill Simmons discourages the Knicks and the Heat from pushing for Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has had his worst injury-plagued year this season, which has seen him miss almost half of the games for this team. While his overall injury record is much more promising, Bill Simmons has compared him to Joel Embiid in terms of reliability.

“[Giannis] is closer to Embiid than Jokic. He doesn’t play. He gets hurt all the time. I would be really scared about this,” Simmons stated. “So you’re telling me if I’m Miami, I have to trade all my assets and I have to sign you to a 280 million dollar extension for four years, and I don’t know if you can play.”

However, the most games Antetokounmpo played in a single season since 2018-19 was 73 in the 2023-24 campaign, but he played 430 games over that seven-season span. Whereas the most games Embiid has played in a single season is 68, and his total number of games played is 327. So Antetokounmpo has played a season and a half worth of games more than the Philadelphia Sixers’ center.

The 31-year-old has been in the NBA for 13 years, and though he has not suffered major injury problems, he has incurred issues like a hyper-extended knee, a bad wrist sprain, and a couple of groin strains, which are major wear and tear for a player who thrives on explosiveness and physicality. Simmons believes that taking a risk on a player who has such wear and tear could be a major risk for any franchise.

Another worrisome detail around the Antetokounmpo trade is that only Karl Malone has averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for a season in year 14 and beyond. Malone recorded it in 1988 and 89. The historical odds are stacked against him; only a handful of legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone have maintained 24-point, 10-rebound averages at age 32 or older, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in nearly three decades.

The Knicks or any other franchise interested in the two-time MVP ignore such stats, but the New York-based franchise has suffered a similar scenario when they signed Amare Stoudemire in 2010. Since then, giving up all of their assets for an All-Star seems like a major risk.

Ultimately, the Knicks must decide if the promise of a championship with Giannis is worth betting the franchise’s future against historical precedent and his recent injury concerns.