With the NBA season approaching, rumors of Antetokounmpo’s trading began again.
Thanks to Shams Charania, rumors about Giannis Knicks have heated up again.
“Several teams were discussed internally, but one of them was the only team Antetokounmpo wants to play outside of Milwaukee: the New York Knicks, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN.
“The Bucks received an invitation from the Knicks to Antetokounmpo, and the two sides had a conversation for a while in August, but the two teams never made any progress on the deal,” league sources said.
SNY’s Ian Begley also provides some of his own intelligence to support Shams. The idea of winning the championship with the Knicks in New York was attractive to the Bucks star.
But the road to New York is not smooth.
“Either the Bucks work with him here at Giannis’ preferred destination or things can get a little mess,” Begley explained. “He has a need for a deal and uses his potential renewal advantage to discourage other teams from trading him, thus opening a path for the Knicks.”
During the team training Tuesday, Mike Brown was asked about the deal negotiations between the Bucks and the Knicks in August.
His answer was, “I don’t talk about that. We’re in a good position now. Our players are always trying their best. They start choosing what we do on defense; we’re getting more comfortable offense – especially trying to play faster. That’s what I’m focusing on now. Like I said, I love our players, and I think they’re starting to enjoy the way we play on both sides of the field.”
Shams said Giannis is expected to “retain his choice based on how the Bucks starts the new season.”
It seems the Bucks have noticed it.
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