New York Knicks: Five biggest storylines for 2019 offseason

3. Is trading for a superstar possible?

Amid the free agency and draft talk, there was the New York Knicks potentially trading for a superstar. They were involved in the Anthony Davis rumors when the Kentucky product publicly sought a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans in January.

The Knicks have pieces to move. It’s not as they don’t. Ntilikina, Smith Jr., Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and extra first-round picks are all assets, but there should be cause for pause on moving most of them.

Ntilikina and Smith might be expendable if a certain big-name point guard signs, but Knox, Robinson and the 2019 first-round pick are all risks to move.

Knox, despite inconsistencies at both ends, showed he could become an effective scorer. The draft pick, even if not first overall, can turn into the young talent this team continues to need. However, there’s Robinson, who was this team’s most exciting player by a landslide.

For the Knicks to trade someone that showed the tantalizing potential and defensive prowess as the 2018 second-round pick, it has the chance to rile the fanbase and question the commitment to the future, when they finally started to accumulate interesting, young players. Even for someone of Davis’ caliber, it has the chance to haunt New York for the years to come.

If the Knicks refuse to move Robinson, unless they collect the first pick in May’s lottery, they don’t have another headliner to acquire a superstar. That should temper expectations for Davis or any other top player that seeks different employment via trade, but surprises happen and the Knicks could walk away with someone, with a package no one expects.