Although the Knicks made a “real offer” for Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason, an in-season trade looks unlikely at this juncture, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link).
As Begley explains, Antetokounmpo would likely have to try and force his way to New York for a deal to happen, and even if that were to occur, Milwaukee would be under no obligation to fulfill his request. A league source also tells Begley the Knicks like their roster and believe they’re well-positioned in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
The Clippers announced on Wednesday morning that they’re “parting ways” with Chris Paul — what that means exactly is still to be determined, since he’s unlikely to be waived anytime soon and isn’t trade-eligible until December 15. A previous report indicated that the Knicks have discussed the possibility of making a deal for the 40-year-old point guard, but Begley hears a trade, at least as of now, is “highly unlikely” to occur.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News and Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscriber link) weigh the pros and cons of the Knicks making a run at Paul. Vaccaro believes the future Hall-of-Famer would be an upgrade over second-year guard Tyler Kolek and would probably be relatively easy to acquire. Winfield, meanwhile, says Paul would be an imperfect fit on the Knicks due to his declining production and worsening defense, but the team does need another play-maker off the bench, and the 12-time All-Star is one of the best in league history.
- As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes (subscription required), Kolek has been getting backup point guard minutes of late, but the team has struggled mightily in his time on the court, which is one reason why the need for a reserve play-maker behind Jalen Brunson persists. Bondy lists nine guards whom a pair of NBA executives think could be available before the February deadline, including Paul, Jose Alvarado (Pelicans), Tre Jones (Bulls), and his older brother Tyus Jones (Magic).
- Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link) expects Josh Hart to remain in the starting lineup going forward, which is noteworthy because OG Anunoby could return to action on Friday — he’s questionable against Utah after missing the past nine games with a strained left hamstring. Hart has been playing his best basketball of the season recently.
- While the Knicks have won five of their past six games, they’ve also blown double-digit leads in five of those six contests, according to Winfield. The latest incident occurred in Wednesday’s win over Charlotte. “Teams aren’t just going to lay down. We build a lead, you’ve got to anticipate they’re going to fight back, they’re not just going to give up,” Brunson said after the victory. “We’ve got to do a better job of slowing down their runs and limiting them. But we can’t let them get all the way back like we’ve been doing.”
Vacarro should’ve watched some of CP3’s games last year. As much as I love his game, he’s not going to be of help. His defense is basically running into passing lanes because that’s all he can do to be effective. He’s a couple of years past the retirement expiration date.
Paul was extremely effective as an 82-game starter last year. He’s two months past his expiration date.
G to the Knicks via 3 team trade. Bucks won’t accept pennies on the dollar, they will be better without him. Developing a new “system” mid-season usually never works.
Yeah I agree CP3 legs are gone. He can’t help us. Coach Brown needs to look at WV college game tapes. With McBride running the offense. He was drafted as a PG. But what got him mins under Thibs. Was his defense and 3pt shooting. That’s what the team needed next to Brunson. We had no Donte no Grimes. So if Brown just makes him play the point. And tells him. We NEED YOU to play PG when Brunson sits. We can make it happen. Coachthe team please …..
The guy I would like to see play next to Towns. Is Isaac or Wolf. Just don’t see how we make that happen. Mitch to Pelicans for Looney and Bey. Works for me. Mitch is from NO ……
“He was drafted as a PG”
Yeah and he has a 12 AST% despite playing more without Brunson this year. He’s not playing any different under a new coach.
He’s really not. That’s my point. He’s got the handle. At worst he’s a combo guard. Supposedly for Browns offense. That’s good enough. Kolek defensively still has problems. This 3pt happy bs is messing with every team. You don’t always need to stand around and wait for the ball to shoot a 3. You can initiate offense off the dribble. Motion and picks on offense is what gets you good looks.
Love to see Giannis as a Knick. Only Knicks don’t have the players or assets to pull it off. We would have to move Towns and OG to other teams. In order to get young talent and picks. That the Bucks would want …….. I don’t see it happening ….
Our Ace in the hole is a Mitch trade. Hukporti can backup Towns .
CP3 played very well for the Spurs last year. He would be a great backup point guard in the right situation. Probably not for a contender but as a mentor and vet for some young gritty talent like Ben Saraf.
I just don’t think that he would bother playing basketball if there wasn’t a chance to win a championship, so he’s probably done… It’s amazing though that he was able to perform at a high-level last year at his age and size, and it’s a shame wemby got sidelined before we could see some more lobs and perhaps playoff basketball
CP3 might be marginally better than Kolek but if the Knicks are trying to develop Kolek into a servicable backup PG, then I don’t think it’s worth benching him for such a minimal improvement. The other PGs mentioned (Alvarado and the Joneses) would be great but CP3 ain’t good enough to bother. CP3 should enjoy retirement and keep popping up on Netflix dating shows like Love Is Blind. Maybe he can replace Vanessa Lachey.