A three-team trade could ship Derrick Rose to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Reggie Jackson to the New York Knicks. Should the Knicks deal for Jackson?
With the 2017 NBA trade deadline nearing, the New York Knicks can’t seem to escape the rumor mill. Carmelo Anthony has been at the heart of trade rumors for months on end and starting point guard Derrick Rose has joined him in the days leading up to the deadline.
Previously believed to be a swap of Rose for Ricky Rubio, a prominent rumor appears to have taken an interesting turn.
Ian Begley of ESPN New York recently reported that the Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves have discussed a trade centered around Rose. The specific details weren’t revealed, but the common theory was that Rose would be exchanged for Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the execution of the trade could depend on the introduction of a third team—and that team may be the Detroit Pistons.
"“If there’s a second point guard that I would bet on getting traded by Thursday, it would be Reggie Jackson. Here’s the problem, though: the Timberwolves don’t want Reggie Jackson, from sources telling me, and they’re looking for a third team. Could that include the Knicks and could we see a three-way move with point guards moving all over the place? Maybe.”"
That seems like more of Windhorst connecting the dots than a concrete rumor, but a three-team trade makes some semblance of sense.
The trade that Windhorst discussed to would consist of Rose going to Minnesota, Rubio being shipped to Detroit, and Reggie Jackson coming to New York. All three teams would give up a point guard to get a point guard.
The question is: why exactly should the New York Knicks be open to trading for Reggie Jackson?