The Knicks were said to have engaged the Bucks in conversations last offseason about a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP reportedly listed New York as one of his preferred destinations, but those discussions ultimately stalled.
One reason may have been that Karl-Anthony Towns was mentioned as the primary outgoing salary, and not everyone around the league views the former No. 1 overall pick as a strong asset at his contract level.
“I don’t think there is a [trade] market for KAT,” an NBA executive told Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “Not that he is a bad player, but he’s not a winning player. … It’s too much money to spend on him.”
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, sources within the Knicks organization say those offseason talks involving both star big men led to “hard feelings” between Towns and team leadership that “remain to this day.”
Towns, however, has publicly brushed off the latest round of trade rumors, Bondy noted in a separate report. The five-time All-Star has a long-standing relationship with Knicks president Leon Rose, who previously represented him as an agent at CAA, but the two have not directly addressed the speculation.
“I feel like I’ve been in trade rumors a lot for a lot of times, for a year damn near. That don’t matter to me,” said Towns, who was traded from the Timberwolves to the Knicks before last season. “I don’t look at social media or none of that stuff. I focus on the job on hand which is trying to get wins every single night. As long as I do that, I do my job, I go home happy and I feel accomplished. I’m not worried about what anybody got to say or people write or anything like that.”
Knicks Rumors: KAT, Giannis, Yabusele, Targets, Bridges https://t.co/nLPYdhntpp pic.twitter.com/IccMA7pkcH
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) January 30, 2026
