Karl-Anthony Towns’ Finals surge is changing how the Knicks look at a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

The Milwaukee Bucks’ long-running question about Giannis Antetokounmpo has been expected to lead somewhere eventually, with the New York Knicks long seen as a natural destination if a deal becomes possible. But as the Finals progress, a key variable in that trade equation has shifted, because Karl-Anthony Towns has played the best basketball of his career in New York’s run. CBS Sports reported on June 7 that Towns, described by The Athletic’s Sam Amick as the player who has “changed the narrative” around him over the past seven weeks, is also changing the league-wide chatter about Antetokounmpo coming to the Knicks.

CBS framed it as more than postseason noise. The Bucks are weighing Antetokounmpo’s long-term future, with the forward able to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, and has been non-committal about staying in Milwaukee. The report also noted that the Knicks and Bucks even held brief discussions about a potential deal last August before stopping talks ahead of the season. In other words, this is not a new idea. What’s new is whether the Knicks would be willing to disrupt a roster core they are now so close to rewarding with a championship.

Towns’ performance has given New York a reason to treat itself as an already-functional contender rather than a team that must chase a big swing at the first opportunity. Through the first two games of the Finals, CBS reported Towns averaging 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, four assists, and one block while shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point range, and 100 percent from the free-throw line. The same report said his defense has been especially important against San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, an element that could matter in any decision-making about who remains on the floor (and who has to be included in a trade).

For the Bucks, that matters because the trade market is never just about one star. If Milwaukee wants Antetokounmpo, New York likely has to offer players who match salary and value, and CBS previously laid out how Towns’ contract scale has made him a frequent centerpiece of the “how would a deal work” conversation. In a separate earlier CBS breakdown, the outlet wrote that for New York to get Antetokounmpo, it would “almost certainly” need to give up Towns, and that moving without him would reduce the Knicks’ wing depth. The underlying implication is straightforward: if Towns looks less available, the path to a deal becomes narrower.

There is also a basketball-development subtext here that stretches back to the college game. Towns’ reputation in the NBA was built in part by the Kentucky Wildcats, where he played one season after entering as a freshman and averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. That collegiate profile of toughness and two-way potential has been on display more consistently in New York’s postseason, according to CBS’s description of him shifting into a “tough, selfless and whatever-it-takes, two-way style.” It is not unusual for teams to reassess veterans when their roles become clearer. In the Knicks’ case, Towns’ role is now hard to ignore.

Still, none of this is the same as a finalized trade plan. CBS described the situation as the Knicks being two wins away from their first title since 1973, and the Bucks as hoping to settle the issue ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft later in June. Until there is direct confirmation, the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes remains a moving target, shaped by what happens in the remaining Finals games and by how both organizations weigh short-term urgency against long-term flexibility.

What to watch next is whether Towns can keep producing at this level as the Spurs adjust, and whether the Knicks’ front office treats a possible championship as a reason to preserve rather than overhaul. If New York’s current lineup looks like a system that can win it all, CBS’s logic suggests that Milwaukee’s path to Antetokounmpo could become more complicated, not because Milwaukee loses leverage, but because New York gains reasons to hold its most trusted pieces.