Knicks' Supporting Cast Should Only Be Available for Mega Trade

The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumor well, which heavily featured the New York Knicks, went dry mere days after the Milwaukee Bucks star's rumored interest in departing for greener pastures was made public, with a calf strain sidelining the two-time MVP until around the start of the new year.

That's to say nothing of the complexities involved in capturing such a mega-star on the trade market, the sort of swap that would consolidate the contending status of any realistically-interested party across the league.

The Knicks have been one of the jumpiest teams of the 21st century whenever a star becomes available, even though the poorly-run front office that's dictated much of the previous decades always seemed to eliminate them from drawing any real interest from most A-listers. Now that they're one of the best teams in the league, though, they're more interested in standing pat and avoiding an unnecessarily dramatic shake-up.

But trade season is still upon us as of mid-December, which is right around when big picture evaluators start ranking the best assets that could be swapped before the midseason trade deadline. The Knicks are expected to hold onto the talented pieces they've surrounded star scorer Jalen Brunson with, but if any of those other fringe-All-Stars were to hit the road, it would only be to go all-in on the league-altering move.

New York Knicks Guard Jalen Brunson and Center Karl-Anthony Towns — Dec 13, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts with center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) against the Orlando Magic during the fourth quarter at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Mid-Tier, Barely-Attainable Assets

The remainder of the starting-five around Brunson makes for one of the most impressive all-around bunches in the league, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart providing versatile defense and multiple secondary scoring options to keep the winning coming. They stand at an 18-7 record with 16 wins over their last 20 games, and now sit just one game away from an NBA Cup victory.

Their even talent combined with Antetokounmpo's reported foremost interest in New York as his next destination boosted the trade value of the four-some, as they were clumped fairly neatly in the "Only for Giannis" tier of CBS Sports' Sam Quinn's ordered trade guide.

Towns is the most glaringly-obvious candidate of the bunch between his spotty play and his salary figure, which would make a direct swap for Antetokounmpo fairly easy to a calculator.

He's far from alone, though; both of the Knicks' long wings would be fairly desirable to most; as Quinn writes, "Either Anunoby or Mikal Bridges, perhaps even both, would need to be in an Antetokounmpo trade both for value and salary-matching. The Knicks would likely push the Bucks to take Bridges instead, but if push came to shove, Anunoby probably wouldn't be a deal-breaker."

New York Knicks Forwards Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby — Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forwards OG Anunoby (8) and Mikal Bridges (25) warm up before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Josh Hart, in turn, makes the most sense as a Knick, but nothing should be off of the table if New York's got a clean shot at the best trade asset of the year. They're the sort of team with the best argument at taking the east, a rolling unit with a feasible chance to capture the NBA Cup on their way to another potentially-fruitful playoff run, but any growing Antetokounmpo rumors will force some hard questions out of Knicks' management.

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