{"id":705197,"date":"2026-04-08T12:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/705197\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:38:13","slug":"knicks-finally-know-what-it-costs-to-stay-in-the-giannis-trade-sweepstakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/705197\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks finally know what it costs to stay in the Giannis trade sweepstakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the New York Knicks intend to continue their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer, they now have a benchmark of what it could cost. And it comes courtesy of the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks \u201cseriously considered\u201d accepting a package leading into the trade deadline built around \u201cTyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, other players and multiple draft picks<\/a> and pick swaps.\u201d This sounds like a mouthful, but given the Heat\u2019s other draft obligations, we can reasonably assume it was two (conditional) firsts and up to four swaps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the baseline for landing Giannis. The Bucks considered this offer. They didn\u2019t actually accept it. Plenty has already changed in the weeks since<\/a>. More curveballs could await. But this at least gives the Knicks an idea of what they\u2019re up against.<\/p>\n

The Knicks can rival the rumored Heat package<\/p>\n

Cobbling together a competitive package for Giannis has always been New York\u2019s biggest difficulty. So much of its relevance in this discussion is tied to the two-time MVP\u2019s desire to play in the Big Apple<\/a>. While that matters, it isn\u2019t necessarily worth multiple picks and prospects.<\/p>\n

Without involving other teams over the summer, the Knicks\u2019 most aggressive offer would, as a starting point, involve OG Anunoby, Deuce McBride, two first-rounders (2026 and 2033)), and two swaps (2030 and 2032). That isn\u2019t terribly far off from the Heat\u2019s package. New York doesn\u2019t have a prospect on the level of Wade, but Anunoby probably has more standalone value than Herro.<\/p>\n

Bridging that gap shouldn\u2019t be too much of a chore. It\u2019s one thing if the Bucks view Ware as a tent-pole cornerstone. (They shouldn\u2019t.) Otherwise, the difference in draft equity could be offset by roping in other teams, and gauging the markets for Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Josh Hart.<\/p>\n

Sussing out third and fourth parties is, of course, a scenario popularized by plenty of others. But there\u2019s a difference between needing to acquire a first or two, and coming up short multiple firsts and a potential future All-Star. Relative to that hypothetical, Miami\u2019s offer that almost got over the finishing line is encouraging.<\/p>\n

If only the Giannis sweepstakes were that simple<\/p>\n

All of this is peachy keen if Giannis issues a mandate to Milwaukee saying he will only play for the Knicks or Heat, and won\u2019t report anywhere else. Failing that, New York\u2019s biggest competition lies outside Miami.<\/p>\n

Other suitors will emerge over the offseason. Teams that flame out the playoffs will be especially inclined to enter the fray. If that list includes any of the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, or Atlanta Hawks, among others, the Knicks are in trouble.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s also not forget that just as New York\u2019s scope of assets expands over the summer, the same can be said for the Heat. They will have the ability to dangle up to four outright first-rounders, conditional upon their obligation to Charlotte in 2027 (2026, 2029, 2031 and 2033). Putting all of that on the table, plus Ware, vaults them well past the Knicks.<\/p>\n

This to some degree leaves New York right where it started: needing Giannis to force Milwaukee\u2019s hand. That remains the Knicks\u2019 single greatest potential asset.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, with him entering the final year of his contract and his relationship with the Bucks deteriorating<\/a>, offers for him aren\u2019t guaranteed to get better. So, either way, the knowledge of what Miami dangled to almost snag Giannis is useful, if critical, information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the New York Knicks intend to continue their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer, they now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[7,144,295,189,3881,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-705197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-heat","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-heat","12":"tag-miamiheat","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}