The New York Knicks’ single biggest hurdle to acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo is a dearth of trade assets coveted by teams about to enter rebuilding mode. There is only one way for them to go about changing that: using the assets they do have to land first-round picks (or prospects) from other teams that can be sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it’s not.
This idea that the Knicks can cobble together picks and prospects from other squads is predicated upon the cooperation of those other squads. That is far from assured.
Other teams may not want to cooperate with the Knicks
Fellow competitors may not want to facilitate New York’s acquisition of a top-five player.