Giannis Antetokounmpo’s old team was at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The longtime favorite in the clubhouse for who was supposed to be Antetokounmpo’s current team was at the Garden, too, playing its sixth game under the auspices of its freshly hung NBA Championship banner.
The missing piece to that formula?
Antetokounmpo himself. He was in Salt Lake City instead, where his Miami Heat were scheduled to play the Utah Jazz.
His absence was a reminder that one of the oldest credos in sports still very much applies: Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you do not make.