New York Knicks: Pros and cons of potential trade for Jabari Parker

Con: Bites into playing time of others

Up until this recent demotion to the end of the bench, Jabari Parker started 167 of 212 games he played in across five seasons. Most of these came in his final year with the Milwaukee Bucks, as he returned from a torn ACL.

With the Bulls, Parker played 30.1 minutes per game. He also topped 30 minutes in two seasons with Milwaukee. That does not mean he must play heavy minutes with the New York Knicks, but his ability to score will draw on-court time.

It’s at the expense of Knicks that have performed well or need playing time as inexperienced pros, mostly for Noah Vonleh and Kevin Knox.

Vonleh has surprisingly succeeded in a starting power-forward role, with current career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and three-point percentage. He’s also accumulated 26 starts, and there’s no risk of leaving the starting lineup.

Knox recently reverted to a starter, due to Mario Hezonja’s offensive struggles across three weeks as the main small forward. Not only that, but the rookie forward has begun to settle in with multiple 20-point games.

Parker as a potential threat to take playing time from either is detrimental to their growth. To a lesser extent, Dotson.

Especially for a player that probably would not stay in New York’s future, given his expensive team option for 2019-20, is he worth giving attention to instead of the players that need the time?