New York Knicks: Who will they trade heading into the deadline?

With the NBA Trade Deadline being less than a month away, who will the New York Knicks most likely move?

It seems as though the NBA season has been moving incredibly fast. With that, the next big deadline for the league is February 6th, the NBA Trade Deadline. There’s a lot of pieces that the New York Knicks could move and probably should move for not only the wellness of the organization and locker room but the extended patience of the fanbase. With those moves, comes a return that may show some promise based on what they give in exchange.

Dennis Smith Jr.

I was always high on Dennis Smith Jr. ever since he came into the NBA. His athletic ability creates so many options for him inside the lane not only from a scoring perspective but a passing perspective due to defenders collapsing once he gets inside. I even went as far as to say that he could make an All-Star leap headed into this year and why not? He was coming off a season averaging 14.7 Points and 5.4 Assists Per Game.

Only at 22, I was nearly certain that it would work into his favor. Unfortunately for him, that’s not the case and his talents should be put into another organization. Due to the addition of Elfrid Payton and the showing out of Frank Ntilikina, minutes at the Point Guard position have come sparingly, to say the least. With only one start in 23 games played averaging 16.1 minutes a night, it’s hard to believe that the Knicks need what he offers moving forward.

That doesn’t mean another team doesn’t need him though.

At the very least, a good backup Point Guard is hard to come by in the NBA these days. I don’t want to attach that backup role to a 22-year-old who’s only in his third season in the league, but sometimes, a backup role that gives you experience is what you need to finally break into that starting position.

He’s battled some injuries throughout his whole career and his playstyle is more than likely to thank for that, but that doesn’t mean that the Knicks couldn’t get a decent return for him either alone, or packaged with something else.

Marcus Morris Sr.

Out of any player the Knicks could deal at the deadline, I think this one makes the most sense. To put it simply, Marcus Morris has been phenomenal this year in the Garden. He’s made huge shots, he’s scoring the basketball from all levels, and is playing that signature Morris brother defense that both of them are known to excel at.

The Knicks are catching him in the prime of his career on a one-year deal and that’s okay; they just need to move him before the deadline hits so that they can get something in return. At the ripe age of 30, Morris is getting buckets and what better place to do it than where the media is the hardest on their players. Big risk, even bigger reward if you’re able to succeed in MSG.

He’s averaging 19.1 Points, five and a half Rebounds, and is shooting the three-ball the best in his entire career at a staggering 46.9 Percent clip. Right now, Morris is a two-way commodity that any team should want and he’s playing the best basketball of his career. The only issue is that teams now have to offer him a new deal regardless of where he lands and he’s going to want a lot of money.

It’s not entirely out of the question that the Knicks hang on to Morris for the rest of the season, but there certainly isn’t a guarantee that he’ll stay next year, especially based on where this team is projected to finish. Do they want to risk that and end with nothing in return?

I’m sure that these deals, amongst others, have been in discussions for the Knicks to deal away at the deadline, but these are the two that in my eyes make the most sense and could give you the most in return. Package Smith Jr. with a guy like Kevin Knox and you could have yourself a really solid player or few picks coming your way. The same goes for Morris, but that you could probably get a fair amount just trading him by himself.

What I’m saying is the Knicks have options and I’m sure these aren’t the only two pieces that they could be looking to move. Saying that, these could be the two key pieces that possibly give you something worth trading for when all is said and done.