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.
2) Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and Julius Randle for Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, and two future 2nd round picks
This trade solves a multitude of problems for the Kings’ new front office and gives the Knicks a young star attraction that pairs well with RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.
Buddy Hield will slowly become a cancer to the locker room over time, so moving him somewhere sooner rather than later would be ideal for the Kings, but finding a team that can take on two expensive, long-term deals is often difficult. May I introduce you all to the New York Knicks, ladies and gentlemen?
Leon Rose has shown he’s more than willing to take on bad deals in order to gain future assets to aid in the Knicks rebuild, and Harrison Barnes would be that bad deal. He would start at the SF position for this upcoming season and could be moved to a competing team in the not too distant future for additional assets.
Buddy Hield and the two future 2nd rounders would be the prize of this trade, as it gives New York the shooter that they so desperately need to help space the floor for RJ to do what RJ is meant to do, along with even more building blocks for down the road.
On the other side, this trade provides Monte McNair, Sacramento’s new GM, with two expiring deals, and Kevin Knox, who fits this team’s timeline far better than Harrison Barnes currently does.
I could imagine both Frank and Randle being re-signed by the Kings as well, which would give McNair the first few pieces towards his vision of what he wants Sacramento to look like in the next few seasons.
3) Julius Randle and Dennis Smith Jr for Terry Rozier and a future Top-10 protected 1st round pick
As we all know, the Hornets have had the hots for Julius Randle for quite some time now, and some variation of this trade has almost happened twice already. With their recent overpay for Gordon Hayward, it only makes sense that Charlotte is trying their best to compete here and now.
Terry and Randle’s annual salaries add up almost dollar for dollar, but the Knicks would be absorbing one more year of a contract, so in exchange, they could try to grab a protected first round pick out of the deal.
Rozier has been a player linked to the Knicks since Scott Perry joined the organization. Last season, he averaged 18 points on 42.3/40.7/87.4 shooting, while dishing out 4.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Adding the Louisville product would give the Knicks their starting point guard for this upcoming season and help clear up the log jam at the starting PG spot for Charlotte.
Dennis Smith Jr’s return to North Carolina and playing for his hometown team may invigorate him and hopefully take the lid off his potential growth that was stunted after the trade to NY.