With the NBA trade deadline just days away, all eyes are on Milwaukee-and more specifically, on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP has become the centerpiece of this week’s trade chatter, with rumors swirling about whether the Bucks will pull the trigger on a franchise-altering move. But while much of the conversation has focused on where Giannis could land, former NBA champion and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is more interested in where he shouldn’t go-and where he absolutely should.
Perkins made his stance clear Tuesday morning on ESPN’s Get Up, offering a take that bucks the popular narrative: He doesn’t think the New York Knicks should pursue Antetokounmpo, even if Giannis himself reportedly wants to be in the Big Apple.
“Giannis wants to be in New York. He wants to be a Knick,” Perkins said.
“He wanted to be a Knick before the season started. That’s why he quietly behind the scenes told the Bucks in August that he wanted to go to the Big Apple.”
That’s a bombshell in itself. But Perkins didn’t stop there-he went on to say that, despite the mutual interest, New York should hold its ground.
“If I’m New York, I wouldn’t touch it right now,” Perkins continued. “They have one of the deepest teams in the Eastern Conference. And with this roster currently constructed, they should be able to go to the NBA Finals.”
That’s a bold statement, but it’s not without merit. The Knicks have been rolling, sitting in second place in the East and playing some of their best basketball in years.
Their depth-featuring a mix of rising stars, seasoned vets, and a cohesive bench unit-has been a major reason for their success. Trading for Giannis would almost certainly mean parting with Karl-Anthony Towns (if a multi-team deal were involved), gutting the bench, and mortgaging future draft capital.
In other words: a massive shake-up to a team that’s already in contention.
And that’s the heart of Perkins’ argument. The Knicks, for the first time in a long time, have stability, chemistry, and legitimate postseason aspirations. Disrupting that for a superstar-even one as transcendent as Giannis-might do more harm than good in the short term.
But if not New York, then where?
Perkins has a clear answer: the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“The Timberwolves stand out the most to me,” he said. “Because we’re talking about Anthony Edwards here.
A guy who’s having a career year, a guy that has been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. You put Giannis Antetokounmpo alongside him and it’s going to be hell in hot water for the rest of the Western Conference.”
That pairing would be electric. Edwards is emerging as one of the league’s premier two-way stars, and adding Giannis to that mix would instantly elevate Minnesota into the title conversation.
The Wolves are currently sitting in fifth place in the West, stuck in that gray area between “good enough” and “true contender.” A move like this could vault them into the latter category.
And let’s be honest-Minnesota has never been to the NBA Finals. This is a franchise that’s had flashes of relevance but has never quite broken through. With the Western Conference as stacked as it is-Oklahoma City, Denver, San Antonio, and Houston are all ahead in the standings-standing pat may not be an option if the Wolves want to capitalize on Edwards’ prime.
A trade for Giannis wouldn’t come cheap. It would likely mean parting with Karl-Anthony Towns and a haul of picks and role players. But for a team that’s never reached the mountaintop, the opportunity to pair two elite talents might be too good to pass up.
So as the clock ticks toward Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, the question isn’t just whether Milwaukee will move Giannis-it’s who’s willing to risk it all to land him.
According to Perkins, the Knicks shouldn’t. The Timberwolves must.
Now we wait to see if the league’s next seismic shift is just around the corner.