Carmelo Anthony wants the New York Knicks to be careful about pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jalen Brunson.
The New York Knicks are actively making big changes to their side after their Eastern Conference Finals exit.
The first step was getting rid of Tom Thibodeau. Since then, they’ve approached several coaches who already have jobs in the NBA. Unfortunately, all these teams stopped the Knicks before they could make any progress.
Now, as the Knicks are targeting Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown, they must look to wrap up negotiations soon. But what about any changes to their roster?
The Knicks have been linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo recently. However, one Knicks legend believes that the franchise can’t afford to be hasty in landing the big man.
Carmelo Anthony spoke on his podcast about the New York Knicks potentially landing Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade.
Melo referenced Knicks’ coach candidate and current Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who understood what his guards needed. His worry is that the Knicks aren’t thinking about whether Jalen Brunson and Giannis will fit well together.
“Jason Kidd understands what those types of guards need. He understood when [he] had Luka [Doncic] and JB [Jalen Brunson] together, this is what they both needed. They both needed each other…”
“Who that spot is going to? That’s not Giannis [Antetokounmpo], that’s not whoever else. That’s not that. Now, if you’re going to clear space to go get Giannis, do it. Go big or go home, I’m cool with that.”
“But just know what we’re getting. Do you like Giannis and JB together, or do you like JB and KAT [Karl Anthony Towns] together?”
“They might not keep Mitchell Robinson… But now you’ve got to start saying what’s best for us if Giannis is coming… This is the package that we got to give up for Giannis. And now we’ve got to go build a whole other type of team, right? Unless you keep Giannis and KAT.”
While the New York Knicks might want to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, the forward is unlikely to join them this offseason.
For starters, Giannis has halted any trade talk for now and is focused on being with the Milwaukee Bucks.
But even if Giannis were ready to go, the Knicks don’t have the assets to land him. Much like the Knicks’ package for Kevin Durant, the franchise can only offer Karl-Anthony Towns and salary filler to the Bucks.
In fact, Patrick Beverley claimed the Bucks could potentially ask for Jalen Brunson in a Giannis trade, because the Knicks’ other players aren’t worth much, and they have no draft picks left to trade.
But if by some excellent negotiating, the Knicks are able to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, they must be ready to go all-in on an NBA championship and put the star in the best position possible to lead them to victory.
