The New York Knicks are in a position where a trade before the season could set them up for success.
While Frank Ntilikina’s removal of his Instagram bio information turned out to be nothing, it seems there might be a trade or two for the New York Knicks to make before the regular season kicks off later this month.
The roster currently has 17 players who could start the season in the NBA, but only 15 contracts are allowed. And with Julius Randle’s soft expiring contract and New York’s newfound guard depth, team president Leon Rose might as well move a few pieces elsewhere to gain more assets for the future.
Here are 3 trades I believe the Knicks should make:
1) Julius Randle, Frank Ntilikina, and Dennis Smith Jr. for Mike Conley
This trade makes sense for both teams. I believe Utah still has a bitter taste in its mouth due to Mike Conley’s poor performance last season prior to his injury woes. He did redeem himself a bit come playoff time, but Utah would be better suited having “Spida” with the rock in his hands as often as humanly possible. The “get a pass-first point guard” experiment failed, and Mitchell was able to prove that with the ball constantly in his possession, he’s able to put up a ridiculous amount of points, especially when the lights are brightest.
If the Jazz lack anything, its depth at the guard position and a dominant scorer off the bench, and this trade fixes both problems. Randle would go back to his 6th man, second-unit scoring role, similar to his best days as an NBA player with the Pelicans. Frank has proven that he’s capable of guarding the opposing team’s best player as a Knick, so he could easily start on this squad as a defensive stalwart at the two-guard position and facilitate a bit as well. Moving Dennis Smith Jr also cleans up a bit of the traffic jam the Knicks have created for themselves at the 1 spot, while also providing further depth at either guard position for Utah.
Conley to the Knicks provides them with a gritty veteran presence to pair with the young up-and-comers on this team, almost like a CP3-lite. As badly as some Knicks fans wanted Chris Paul, I don’t think Conley is as much a consolation prize as most would think. He would show the young cats what it’s like to be a consummate professional at the NBA level as well as lead this team on a night in and night out basis as one of the better facilitators the NBA has to offer.