Knicks Trade Rumors: Best Available Defensive Players
Thabo Sefolosha, Atlanta Hawks
Position: Guard/Forward
Age: 32 (5/2/1984)
Experience: 11th Season
2016-17 Slash Line: .458/.299/.756
2016-17 Season Averages: 25.8 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 0.6 3PM
Perhaps the most under-appreciated on-ball defender in the NBA, Thabo Sefolosha is the type of player who makes scorers work for every shot. He has the size, length, and consistent energy to frustrate even the best of players.
According to Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Atlanta Hawks value Sefolosha, but are aware of the fact that he’s a pending free agent who could walk for nothing.
"Sources told ESPN.com that the Hawks, fearful of losing Millsap in free agency without compensation in the summer, are not openly shopping him but are taking calls on the 31-year-old and other pending free agents, notably sharpshooter Kyle Korver and swingman Thabo Sefolosha."
If the New York Knicks need defense, then it would be hard to ignore Sefolosha as an option.
Steals aren’t the end-all, be-all on the defensive end of the floor, but Sefolosha’s ability to create turnovers would be invaluable to the Knicks. He’s averaging 1.8 steals per game and 2.5 steals per 36 minutes, while New York is No. 22 in the NBA in steals per game as a team.
Beyond his ability to create turnovers, Sefolosha has an uncanny ability to overwhelm ball-handlers with his on-ball defense.
Sefolosha has an intriguing combination of postseason experience and positional versatility. He’s appeared in the NBA Finals and made three trips to the Conference Finals, and occasionally shows flashes of being a quality 3-point shooter.
For a Knicks team that needs defensive consistency and length along the perimeter, Sefolosha is an obvious option—if he and Carmelo Anthony can bury the hatchet.