NBA-ийн тойм: Янис Антетокунмпогийн ирээдүй ба Жэйлен Брунсоны амжилт

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On this date in 1994, the New York Knicks beat the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. They took a 3-2 series lead behind a monster 25-point, 12-rebound and eight-block performance by Patrick Ewing. But nobody was really talking about that. Why? Because the news broke during the game that Al Cowlings was driving O.J. Simpson in the infamous white Bronco as the police chased them. Funny enough, it made a lot of us miss Anthony Mason going after Hakeem Olajuwon!

Freak Week

A Giannis Q&A with Bucks expert Eric Nehm

Many teams in the league appear to be operating under the assumption that the Milwaukee Bucks are close to trading away Giannis Antetokounmpo. To whom, you ask? Uh … I don’t know. I’m not sure anybody knows. I’m not even sure the Bucks know.

The Miami Heat have been on Giannis’ radar for years, and word around the trade deadline was they had the best offer on the table (Kel’el Ware, Tyler Herro, draft picks and maybe more). That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily enough to pry him away from Milwaukee.

There have been rumors lately that the Boston Celtics want to put more pressure on the rim by acquiring Giannis. However, they’d have to move Jaylen Brown to do that, and they won a title two years ago with him and Jayson Tatum together. A lot of other teams want to be in the mix, but they have to feel comfortable that Giannis will sign a contract extension with them.

So what’s going to happen? Will it happen soon? Nobody better to ask than Eric Nehm, The Athletic’s Bucks guru.

Are you certain that the Giannis situation will be resolved (at least with an agreement in place) within the next week?

Nehm: The reason there’s a belief that this will be settled by next week is the artificial deadline that Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam laid down at the introductory news conference for new coach Tyalor Jenkins on May 6. But there is no rule or contractual deadline dictating this has to be done before the NBA Draft gets underway on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo cannot sign an extension with the Bucks until Oct. 1, so the draft deadline is a manufactured one. But it is quite logical. If the Bucks are going to trade the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo this offseason, getting it done in time to get additional selections in this year’s draft makes sense.

Do you think it’s down to Miami or Boston as the likely trade partner?

Nehm: Those are the two most likely teams, yes. But that doesn’t mean they are the only two places that the Bucks could send Antetokounmpo.

As we reported last week here at The Athletic, one of the defining traits of this offseason’s batch of trade discussions surrounding Antetokounmpo is a hesitancy from many teams to get caught up in a bidding war for the two-time NBA MVP, only to see him put on a different team’s jersey. The fear being that they could potentially offend their own players with trade rumors and then not end up with Antetokounmpo.

How likely is it that Giannis decides he doesn’t want to leave and he agrees to the extension in October?

Nehm: I don’t think that question is framed correctly. I know that people overwhelmingly make this about Antetokounmpo, but the only way he can leave is via a trade, so the decision is really up to the organization, not him.

Just before the trade deadline, Antetokounmpo told me that he wanted to be in Milwaukee, but he wanted “to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs.” Every time Antetokounmpo has put that type of pressure on the organization in the months before he can sign an extension, the team has made a big — typically by trading a pile of future first-round picks — and successfully shown that they are serious about contending for championships.

The organization has that opportunity once again. On draft night, they can trade three first-round picks, and they have enough contracts to make a trade for another star player. They could use the full non-taxpayer mid-level on another contributor. If they trade future picks away again and stay on the path that they’ve been on since 2018, they could get back to being a playoff team.

The Bucks would need to prove they’re serious about trying to contend before he would sign an extension.

The last 24

🏀 Remember him?Ian O’Connor says there’s a forgotten man who deserves some credit for the Knicks’ title. His name is Tom Thibodeau.

🏀 Shooting stars. Our John Hollinger has his list of top free-agent shooting guards. No. 1 is Austin Reaves.

📈 Best since MJ. The Knicks-Spurs Game 5 NBA Finals game averaged 24.5 million viewers. That’s the most since 1998.

🔥 Heater. The NBA has momentum after a buzz-worthy playoffs, Nick Friedell writes. Now the league needs to keep it going.

🎟️ Giveaway! NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani wants you to see the Knicks’ parade. He’s giving away 600 tickets.

🎙️ Lakers legend. Lawrence Tanter has been the Lakers’ PA announcer since 1982. He just announced his retirement.

Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!)and catch out-of-market games onLeague Pass.

No. 1 Knick?

Brunson’s case to be New York’s finest

After leading the Knicks to their first title in 53 years, Jalen Brunson is riding a wave that not many people in NBA history can match. Brunson’s leadership and clutch finals performance gave the Knicks a championship that the city is still celebrating and will be celebrating for a long time. It immediately led to the conversation of whether this title catapulted Brunson to the honor of Greatest Knick of All-Time.

Brunson doesn’t rank in the top 10 in a lot of Knicks all-time categories. He’s 55th in games played, 36th in minutes played, 17th in shots made, fourth in 3-pointers made, 16th in assists and 17th in total points. Since he’s only been there four seasons, that’s still incredible.

And consider these rankings:

• He has the third-highest scoring average (26.3).
• He has the second-highest playoff scoring average (29.4).
• He’s third in playoff points (1,796).
• Patrick Ewing is first (2,787), and Walt Frazier is second (1,927). However, Ewing played 135 playoff games, and Frazier played 93. Brunson has played in 61 for the Knicks.

Brunson has one more championship than Ewing and one more finals MVP than Frazier. Clyde has two championship rings, though. Willis Reed is also in the mix for this title with his two rings and two finals MVP awards.

However, what could theoretically push Brunson to the top of this list is something that Reed and Frazier have no control over and something Ewing unfortunately added to. Is Brunson’s championship worth more than most other titles?

There’s a reason so many of us pleaded for the Knicks to stop being such a joke for decades. The league is in a better place when franchises like the Knicks are good. The title drought and the performance Brunson has given New York in his brief time there could push his status over guys like Frazier, Reed and Ewing.

Some people won’t accept that and say we’re prisoners of the moment. I guess it’s a good thing for the 29-year-old Brunson that he can continue adding to his Knicks legacy.

Already torn

Jazz unsure what to do at No. 2

The Utah Jazz are sitting pretty with the No. 2 pick in the draft. For months, this draft has been advertised as having three can’t-miss prospects at the top, and the Jazz are guaranteed to pick from two of them. That’s after the Washington Wizards select with the first pick.

But it doesn’t sound like Danny and Austin Ainge know exactly where to lean at No. 2.

Tony Jones reported yesterday that Utah is “genuinely torn” among these three prospects.

The Jazz have had Dybantsa and Boozer for private workouts, according to league sources. Peterson canceled his workout this week amid reports that he believes he will be the No. 1 pick, and he hopes the Wizards select him.

Cue up Natalie Imbruglia! (That song will be in your head the rest of the day, and you’re welcome for that. It’s a banger.)

It sounds like the Wizards will pick between BYU wing Dybansta and Kansas guard Peterson. Maybe they’ll surprise us with Duke forward Boozer, but I doubt it. It’s hard to tell if Peterson is trying to speak that into existence at No. 1 or if he’s just avoiding working out for Utah. As Tony points out, the Jazz went through something similar with Ace Bailey last year but selected him fifth anyway. They aren’t worried about a prospect not working out or meeting with them.

The Jazz also being torn about Boozer is interesting, though. We talked yesterday about Walker Kessler’s frustration with the Jazz in restricted free agency negotiations. The Jazz seem adamant they want a frontcourt of Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen. Maybe not all starting, but in the rotation. So how would Boozer fit into that? Unless they plan on drafting him and moving Kessler in a sign-and-trade?

Dybansta would keep giving them incredible size on the floor on the wing. Peterson might rival Keyonte George for his role, and George is due a big payday with a potential contract extension after his massive upturn in Year 3.

My guess is Peterson ends up being the guy at No. 2, but it’s up in the air with less than a week to go.