New York Knicks: What would it take to trade for Bradley Beal?

Julius Randle, Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock both 2021 1st round picks and both 2023 1st round picks for Bradley Beal

Before you send hate-mail to me on Twitter, just hear me out. Julias Randle is having an incredible season, we know this. He’s almost single-handedly making the Knicks a playoff contender. The fact remains that some of his feats so far this season could be unsustainable so New York should capitalize on Randle’s value at its highest and strike while the iron is scorching hot.

If anyone needs to be explained exactly how much better Bradley Beal is than Julius Randle, you may not know much about basketball. The Knicks would also have control over Beal for the next three seasons as long as Beal opts into the player option in the final year of his extension, which would give other stars even more reason than they have now to come to play in the Mecca of basketball.

If Bradley Beal lacks anywhere it’s on the defensive side of the ball, so who better to coach him than one of the best defensive minds the NBA has to offer in Tom Thibodeau? The Knicks are currently a top-10 defense under Thibs with a similar roster that was bottom-of-the-barrel under David Fizdale and Mike Miller.

The trade also pairs one of the league’s elite scorers and a career 38 percent 3-point shooter next to young RJ Barrett. This would immediately open up scoring lanes for RJ while taking the pressure off him to shoot jumpers as often as he has been.

Potential lineup: Elfrid Payton, Bradley Beal, RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson

Note: Burks is ineligible for trade until after February 5th, so this trade would have to wait until after that date.