Milwaukee Bucks megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo has formally requested a trade and is reportedly eyeing the Big Apple for his new NBA home, according to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst.
Windhorst added that Antetokounmpo’s trade request is not new, stating that the two-time MVP wanted out of Milwaukee before the season, and that the Bucks already called the New York Knicks during the offseason to pitch a trade involving the nine-time All-Star.
Following the blockbuster trade in February that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, Antetokounmpo humorously posed the idea of every European basketball star joining big-market teams.
“OK, let’s say something funny because I took it and spoke very serious,” Antetokounmpo said after mulling the blockbuster trade that sent Dončić to the Lakers, with Anthony Davis heading to Dallas.
“Now that a European will be, I believe, the face of the Lakers, this is something new for Europe. It’s never happened before. We had Pau Gasol. Obviously, he was a great player. And how do you say — Vujačić? Sasha Vujačić? — great guy, one of my close friends, but I mess up his name all the time. Now, I just love it. You know what I want? I want Luka to the Lakers, I want Jokić to the Knicks. I want all the Europeans to go to all the big markets to see something incredible. This is what I want. This is my dream. But again, I wish both teams the best of luck, wish all the players best of luck with their journey moving forward.”
Now, it appears that the Athens, Greece native wants to fulfill his own dream and become the face of the Knicks.
Milwaukee Bucks Pitched Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade to Knicks During Offseason
GettyGiannis Antetokounmpo desires to be traded to New York Knicks
Typically, when a high-profile athlete requests a trade, they form a shortlist of franchises that they prefer. According to longtime NFL insider Adam Schefter, Bucks legend and champion Antetokounmpo is solely interested in joining the Knicks.
This supports a report by ESPN Senior NBA insider Shams Charania in October that the Bucks and Knicks engaged in offseason trade discussions involving the 2019 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“Ever since the NBA draft combine in mid-May, Alex Saratsis, an Octagon managing director and Antetokounmpo’s U.S.-based representative, has fielded rampant interest in Antetokounmpo and conducted serious due diligence on best possible outside fits should the star and his reps push to be traded from the Bucks. Several teams were discussed internally, but one emerged as the only place Antetokounmpo wanted to play outside of Milwaukee: the New York Knicks, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN,” Charania wrote for ESPN.
“The Bucks picked up the Knicks’ call on Antetokounmpo, and the sides engaged in conversations for a window of time in August, league sources said, but the teams never got traction on a deal.”
Months later, following a sluggish 9-13 start to the season, the pressure to move Antetokounmpo are ramping up. ESPN Senior NBA insider Shams Charania reporting that the Bucks star could be moved before New Year’s Day.
“Just in: Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis have started conversations with the Milwaukee Bucks about the two-time NBA MVP’s future – and discussing whether his best fit is staying or elsewhere, sources tell ESPN. A resolution is expected in the coming weeks,” Charania shared via X.
Perhaps a Christmas gift in the form of a 6-foot-11 perennial All-Star awaits the Knicks this Christmas season.
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