Knicks Are Living the Dream in Aftermath of Giannis, LaMelo Trades

The Miami Heat may have traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but are they even better than the New York Knicks?

The Knicks come out looking better despite not being part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are in a position they haven't been in before. Or at least since Walt "Clyde" Frazier helped Madison Square Garden hang two championship banners in the rafters during the early '70s.

The rest of the league is chasing the Knicks. Teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are trying to figure out how to build a roster capable of upending the Knicks' elite starting five.

Earlier this week, the Heat took their biggest swing by bringing in a former champion and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. While it is a seismic move, taking a closer look at the effects of it shows New York benefiting from this huge trade.

The Heat are not better than the Knicks

It would be easy to say that the Heat are title contenders by the addition of the superstar power forward, but as things stand, the Knicks should still be the better team. Their hopes of repeating may not be in jeopardy.

The fact is, while Antetokounmpo is still one of the best in the league, the Heat lost a ton of depth to get him. In a lot of ways, it wasn't so different from what the Knicks did when they traded for Carmelo Anthony, sending the Nuggets Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and a first-round draft pick.

To get Antetokounmpo, the Heat sent Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakučionis to the Bucks. On top of that, they traded Milwaukee the 13th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, their first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, and a second-round pick in 2033.

The Heat could get creative with Andrew Wiggins, and his player option will be a big factor in how they operate. Depending on how things go on that front, they might have to fill out the roster with a bunch of vet minimum deals like Khris Middleton, Bruce Brown and Gabe Vincent.

But it won't be easy to replace Herro's production. Herro, the former sixth man of the year and All-Star, averaged 19.5 points in his career and shot 37.8% from three.

It's hard to imagine Miami will have a better starting five than what the Knicks will be rolling with with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Alongside Antetokounmpo should be Bam Adebayo, Norm Powell, Davion Mitchell, and Wiggins.

This, of course, assumes Wiggins and Powell return. The latter is an unrestricted free agent who could get paid by another team after an All-Star season, which would only further empty Miami's depleted talent reserves.

How the Celtics factor into this

The Heat may have been drained of depth, but the move is also a net-negative for the Celtics. They were one of the big suitors for Antetokounmpo, with Jaylen Brown's name being thrown out throughout this saga. That shows how hard Boston was shopping him.

Even more, Thursday's shocking LaMelo Ball trade once again saw Brown reportedly be put on the table. That's now two massive trades that the Celtics failed to close, all while being exposed for making their second star clearly available.

Wolves discussed Jaylen Brown with Celtics before trading for LaMelo Ball, per @JonKrawczynski.

Minnesota thought of Ball as "fitting more of what they needed" for likely less compensation going out.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 25, 2026

On paper, the Celtics could have a full season of Brown and Jayson Tatum finally together again. But Brown's involvement in trade talks will absolutely affect the team's chemistry and could spell the end of Boston's homegrown star duo.

Brown could easily be unhappy about how things played out and force his way out of Boston. With the Celtics backed into a corner, they'd then have very little leverage trying to trade an All-Star who's demanding out. In turn, not only would Brad Stevens lose Brown, but he likely would receive a lesser return without a proper replacement.

Hornets' step back can't be ignored

Speaking of Ball, his departure is an undeniable blow to one of the East's ascending teams. The Hornets just won their most games in a season since the 2015-16 campaign and made the Play-In Tournament, thanks to Ball staying relatively healthy.

With rookie sensation Kon Knueppel and an only 23-year-old Brandon Miller, this season showed Charlotte has the makings of a contending core. But they've given up this trio instead and removed the most integral piece whose playmaking undeniably elevated the other two's performance.

will be interesting to see how kon knueppel fares without lamelo ball

76.7% of knueppel's field goals were assisted last season and no one assisted him more than ball (110)

also thought these 3-point numbers for knueppel were interesting https://t.co/Moq9dwVss0 pic.twitter.com/K0S7OvEes9

— jack maloney (@jackmaloneycbs) June 25, 2026

As a title favorite, the Knicks can't just be focused on who the expected top teams are, but also keep an eye on the budding groups who could be primed to hit another level. After all, the hierarchy of the league is subject to change at a moment's notice.

That's what makes the Hornets' major step back more than relevant for New York. Though Charlotte could make a move for a star with the extra assets it has now, Ball was the perfect leading piece for them, so this shakeup could easily send them back to the depths of the East standings—removing a potential threat in the process.