2. Jabari Parker
In January, when Enes Kanter was still part of the New York Knicks and making his unhappiness known, a swap for Jabari Parker became one of a few trade rumors before the Feb. 7 deadline. It never happened, as Parker went to the Washington Wizards and Kanter signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in free agency.
The Wizards own a $20 million team option on Parker. Unless they don’t want to lose him, declining that large sum seems inevitable.
The Duke product signed his contract with the Chicago Bulls after years of injuries in Milwaukee. Player option aside, it was basically a one-year deal for $20 million, which failed just weeks into the season, once the Bulls coaching staff benched him.
Replicating that figure will be difficult. Parker can score, but his outside shooting is not there and defense is optional for 2014’s No. 2 pick, so adding him to the Knicks is not an ideal scenario. However, if they want to eat up cap space and acquire scoring depth, this is someone worth a one-year flier.
The Knicks already have a scoring forward with questionable defense in Kevin Knox, so the fit is, again, hardly perfect. This front office likes players needing a change of scenery, who were high draft picks, though. Maybe they take a chance of Parker’s higher reward in the scoring department.