New York reporter: Rockets could outbid Knicks in trade offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo could enter free agency as soon as 2025, and he’s eligible for a contract extension from the Bucks this season. Recent reporting has cast doubt over whether his long-term future in Milwaukee is secure, with Antetokounmpo citing a desire to win more titles after his initial ring in 2021.

Should Antetokounmpo eventually want to leave, the Bucks might choose to act early, since trading him with more time before a potential free agency could maximize their asset return.

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Given its market size and a solid stockpile of future draft assets, many expect New York to ultimately be a suitor, in such a scenario.

But Ian Begley, NBA and Knicks insider for SNY, says the Houston Rockets are one team that could top a potential New York offer.

“They [the Knicks] own the rights to four future first-round picks and have all of their own first-rounders moving forward”, Begley writes. “They have players signed to reasonable contracts. Can they put together the best combination of players and picks? No. Oklahoma City and Houston can easily top any New York offer.”

Still in at least something of a rebuild, the Rockets have lots of unprotected future first-round draft capital headed their way from the Brooklyn Nets, whose near-term outlook appears quite uncertain after the losses of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving earlier this year.

Houston could also pair those draft assets in a trade proposal with talented prospects from its young core, and those types of high-upside prospects with lower initial salaries might become appealing to a Milwaukee team that would likely be stepping back from title contention for at least a couple years, in such a scenario.

Of course, the theoretical offer is only part of the equation when it comes to a potential trade for an NBA superstar. Begley explains:

Milwaukee, to a degree, can control where Antetokounmpo lands via trade.

But if you’re talking about Giannis, you also have to factor in his future. You aren’t trading for him if you don’t think you have a chance to sign him. Would Giannis re-sign with Oklahoma City or Houston? What about Utah? I have no idea if he would or wouldn’t. But if I worked for a sports book and they asked me today to put together a futures bet on Giannis’ next team, Toronto, Miami and New York would be on my list.

Any Antetokounmpo deal doesn’t appear plausible until 2024 at the earliest, so his current view of other teams is far from binding.

But from the perspective of the Rockets, if they want to get in the sweepstakes, the best thing they can do is make a leap forward on the court next season. From there, that could make it clear to a star such as Antetokounmpo (or Joel Embiid) that Houston — with its burgeoning young core and, now, a proven head coach in Ime Udoka and accomplished veterans in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks — is a place where they could win big in the mid-to-late 2020s.

For now, it should be considered unlikely, albeit with some hope that moving up the NBA standings might change the calculus next year.

The Knicks are closely watching the situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo and could plan their actions around him, per @IanBegley

“The Knicks could put together a solid trade offer for Giannis. They own the rights to four future *first-round picks and have all of their own… pic.twitter.com/8e4bKuaqt3

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 20, 2023