A number of big names have appeared in recent NBA trade rumors, including two former members of the New York Knicks. Could New York go back to the future?
The New York Knicks are 17-20 and trending towards another season that ends without a trip to the NBA Playoffs. Despite opening the season in promising fashion at 16-13, the Knicks have found a way to collapse during the most encouraging of times.
Fortunately for the Knicks, a number of teams are preparing for a proverbial fire sale that could result in a surplus of pragmatic options appearing on the open market.
The Atlanta Hawks began this process by trading Kyle Korver for perceived pennies on the dollar to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta is also rumored to be fielding offers for Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha, both of whom the Knicks could have interest in.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Denver Nuggets are joining the Hawks in the fire sale business—and two of the players being shopped have played in New York already.
"The Nuggets, for the record, are now openly shopping third-year big man Jusuf Nurkic in addition to the widely assumed availability of vets Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler."
That alone is reason to be intrigued by the possibility of a trade.
Denver has been stuck in basketball limbo since trading Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks in 2011. It’s built a roster with an abundance of high-quality players, but there hasn’t yet been a star who has emerged from Anthony’s shadow.
The question is: why should the New York Knicks care about the available members of the Denver Nuggets and who else might be worth pursuing?