Why Feb. 1 looms as an important date in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes

The Leon Rose-led New York Knicks front office does a lot of things well, but one thing that consistently stands out is how well they handle the minor details on significant transactions. Take last offseason's decision to extend Mikal Bridges. The Knicks knew they wanted to lock up their recent trade acquisition for the long haul, but they had to be careful about when exactly they did it.

As we now know, the Knicks were interested in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo last offseason. To that effort, they elected not to extend Bridges the moment the offseason began just in case they needed to include him in a deal. Any Bridges extension would surely give him a substantial raise, which would trigger a six-month trade restriction. The last thing New York wanted to do was extend Bridges only to find out a day or two later that Antetokounmpo was available.

If the Knicks want Giannis Antetokounmpo, they're going to have to make some uncomfortable sacrifices

Sam Quinn

So they waited. By the end of July, they knew they had to act. Bridges officially signed his extension on Aug. 1. This meant that six months later would be Feb. 1. That's this Sunday, four days before the trade deadline. Knowing that there wasn't a trade for Antetokounmpo to be made over the summer, the Knicks locked him into an extension that allowed for him to be traded ahead of the deadline instead. Had he waited another week, as Lauri Markkanen did in the summer of 2024, he would have been locked out of the in-season trade market.

And now, here we sit. Feb. 1 is looming, and in the days that follow, the Feb. 5 trade deadline. And, sure enough, Antetokounmpo is available. After swatting away phone calls for months, the Bucks finally appear receptive to a deal for their two-time MVP. In the past, Antetokounmpo has reportedly expressed interest in playing for the Knicks. And as of Sunday, every player on New York's roster will be trade-eligible, and any team acquiring Bridges, whether it's the Bucks or a third party, can rest easy knowing he's locked into a long-term deal.

Does this mean that the Knicks will trade for Antetokounmpo? No. Trades of this magnitude are immensely complicated and there are other suitors out there with more to offer the Bucks than the Knicks can. But if Antetokounmpo is willing to stick his thumb on the scale for New York and deter other teams, a pathway legally exists. Or at least, it will on Sunday, once Bridges becomes available.

The Knicks technically can make an offer without Bridges in it. In all likelihood, any offer would include two of Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. But considering Towns' age and salary, he is the least desirable of the three. There is a very good chance that the inclusion of Bridges winds up being a necessity in getting a deal across the goal line, if that's even possible. The Knicks managed the timing of his extension properly, so for the last four days before the buzzer rings, Bridges will indeed be eligible for inclusion in an Antetokounmpo trade.