New York Knicks: 3 undervalued stars to target in trades

John Collins and Tony Snell for Obi Toppin, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, Dallas’ 2023 first round pick

It seems that John Collins and Trae Young are at odds with one another, and the franchise isn’t sold on keeping Collins long-term seeing how they were reluctant to give him the max extension he’s been looking for. Between acquiring Danilo Gallinari in the offseason and drafting Onyeka Okongwu, who can play the 4 when the Hawks want to play big, moving John Collins for valuable assets before another team has the ability to offer him a contract in the summer they may not be willing to match might just be the move.

I can’t see John Collins coming off the bench for the Knicks, so that would move Julius Randle over to the 3, which I could see him doing with only some difficulty guarding shiftier SF’s around the league. Collins’ 37% career 3-point shooting will allow enough spacing for Randle and RJ to work in the paint. Similar to the previous trade, this move also sends Immanuel Quickley into the starting lineup to add even more shooting and gives young IQ more real-life playing time to further develop into what could be the Knicks PG of the future.

Again, losing Obi Toppin or either of the 2 first rounders involved will certainly suck, but we also didn’t think anything from this Knicks season would show promise for the team’s immediate future, so capitalizing on the newfound success by adding young talented starts into the mix can only further their playoff hopes as well as making New York a more desirable destination for free agents to come to play in the next few upcoming offseasons.

Potential lineup – Immanuel Quickley RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, John Collins, Mitchell Robinson