The New York Knicks seem to be in “win-now” mode after shipping point guard Dennis Smith Jr along with Charlotte’s 2nd round pick to Detroit in exchange for the services of a Coach Thibodeau favorite, Derrick Rose. In fact, Marc Berman of the New York Post recently reported that the Knicks are closely monitoring both Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo to see if a potential blockbuster trade is in the cards for this season’s trade deadline.
Both Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox were purposefully left off the negotiating table when the Derrick Rose deal was being discussed, as it is believed that both players are viewed as valuable young trade assets that could be included in a trade for either of the aforementioned all-star guards.
Although the Knicks currently sit in the 9th seed with a record of 11-15, it’s a significantly better start than most had imagined they’d have before the season kicked off. The Knicks could easily be much closer to having a .500 record, if not above that, had we not lost some very winnable matchups and capitalized on the games lost by a single possession or so.
The Knicks should capitalize on this year’s trade market
The Knicks’ blockbuster, “big splash” trading days might be over as it seems the new regime wants to focus on building properly from within. If New York can make a trade before the March 25th deadline this year that propels them to new, unexpected heights, it will not only solidify a playoff spot for us this season but will also help the organization prove to upcoming free agents that New York is a place they can go if they want to win.
If the right opportunity presented itself, I don’t believe there are many players on the Knicks’ current roster that would be considered “untouchable” but here’s a few players that I think will likely be on the move soon.