Knicks Rumors: Devin Booker emerging as trade target

With Leon Rose and William Wesley in new roles with the Knicks, Devin Booker could become a trade target.

The New York Knicks are always in the headlines when it comes to the possibility of attracting star players, and with former CAA bigwig Leon Rose taking over as president of the team, the connections to former clients will create plenty of more rumors.

In answering a mailbag question on Saturday, Knicks beat reporter Marc Berman of the New York Post noted the “player to watch out for most” as a possible trade target for the Knicks under Rose is his former client Devin Booker.

Jonathan Macri of Sports Illustrated reported Booker was a name to keep in mind upon the arrival of CAA’s William Wesley to New York, as the two are close. The connection between Rose and Wesley with Booker dates back to his playing days at Kentucky.

Of course, it’s one thing to want the All-Star guard; it’s another to convince the Suns to trade him. Booker is in the first year of a 5-year, $158 million contract. He is only 23 years old. If you can’t find a way to build around a rising star like him, what’s the point?

That said, the Knicks have plenty of assets they could dangle to entice Phoenix to at least listen to a potential offer. It would seem RJ Barrett or Mitchell Robinson would need to be centerpieces of a hypothetical package that could also include multiple draft picks.

Booker is averaging 26.1 points per game on a career-best 48.7% shooting this season, including 36% from downtown on 5.6 attempts per game. He also averaged 6.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds before the season was put on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Suns are one of the 22 teams who will return to play in Orlando.