Karl-Anthony Towns Upset New York Knicks Tried To Trade Him To Milwaukee Bucks For Giannis Antetokounmpo
Karl-Anthony Towns is upset the New York Knicks tried to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo last offseason, according to NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Antetokounmpo requested a trade from the Bucks and wanted to be traded to the Knicks last offseason, sources told DallasHoopsJournal. However, Milwaukee and New York didn’t agree to a deal.
“Just ask the Knicks, whose talks with the Bucks about Antetokounmpo last summer led to hard feelings with Karl-Anthony Towns that, per team sources, remain to this day,” Amick wrote. “That’s the double-doozy that every team seeks to avoid — the failure to land the player they’re pursuing that is followed by a step backward, relationship-wise, with the player who learned he was nearly sent packing in the process.”
Antetokounmpo is ready to leave the Bucks and the future Hall of Famer prefers to be traded to the Miami Heat, Knicks or Toronto Raptors, sources said. The Heat, Knicks and Raptors are actively pursuing Antetokounmpo despite the swingman expected to miss the next four to six weeks with a right calf injury, sources said.
Antetokounmpo is making $54.1 million this season. He has a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season. The Greek Freak doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Bucks don’t have to trade Antetokounmpo to the Heat, Knicks or Raptors. The franchise will wait for the best offer.
The Knicks are aware that Antetokounmpo wants to play for them and have had discussions with the Portland Trail Blazers about a Jrue Holiday trade, sources said. Antetokounmpo and Holiday played together in Milwaukee and remain close friends.
New York could trade Mikal Bridges to Portland to get Holiday and send Towns to Milwaukee to acquire Antetokounmpo, sources said. The Bucks would then trade Towns to acquire more draft capital, sources said.
The Raptors are willing to part ways with anyone on the roster to get Antetokounmpo except for Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, sources said. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo and Miami star Bam Adebayo have the same agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon. Antetokounmpo and Adebayo have spoken about playing together in South Beach, sources said.
Antetokounmpo has appeared in 30 games this season. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 64.5% from the field and 65.8% from the free-throw line, which are stellar numbers, but the Bucks are only 15-15 with the do-it-all forward in the lineup.
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is February 5 at 3 p.m. ET. It will be fascinating to see if Antetokounmpo and the Bucks part ways.
DallasHoopsJournal senior reporter Grant Afseth contributed to this report.
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