Trade SZN is in full effect and I could not be any more excited about it.
In a recent article, my colleagues over at Soaring Down South, an Atlanta Hawks fan-site under the FanSided banner discussed the idea of 3 potential trades involving the Hawks and Knicks.
I for one would be more than happy to steal away some valuable assets from the fellow Eastern Conference rival and current Knicks’ punching bag, Atlanta Hawks in order to further elevate New York’s quest towards the 2021 playoffs.
At the time this is being written, the Knicks have a record of 14-16 and just suffered an embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic to the tune of 107-89.
I do believe that the Knicks genuinely just get too comfortable when they’re playing well and that they need to lose silly games like this most recent one in order to become hungry again.
That being said, the Knicks must upgrade on the offensive side of the ball. It’s heartbreaking to see the defense playing lights-out game after game, but when it comes to scoring the basketball, the Knicks seem lost outside of Julius Randle and occasionally Immanuel Quickley.
Should the Knicks take a peek at the Hawks’ roster to see who’s available?
The trades proposed by Soaring Down South don’t exactly fit the needs of a team looking to “win now” but if the losses keep piling up from now until the March 25th trade deadline, I would be happy to entertain a few of them.
Here we will discuss some pros and cons of said trades, and I’ll be breaking down who I believe the winner and loser of each trade would be.
This Knicks – Hawks swap brings Cam Reddish to NY to play alongside his old college buddy, RJ Barrett
LEON ROSE, ARE YOU LISTENING? PULL THE TRIGGER NOW AND DON’T LOOK BACK!
The idea of reuniting the former Duke Blue Devils in RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. As mentioned by my colleagues, Reddish is a defense-first wing who, while struggling this season, can hit the deep ball with relative ease.
Let’s face it, Lloyd Pierce while successful in his own right, is no Tom Thibodeau. Also, the developmental staff on the Knicks is the best it’s been in decades, therefore Cam would not only be paired with a coach that better fits his playstyle but he can learn under a staff that’s tailor-made towards his skillsets.
Listen, we all love Kevin Knox. We all want to see him succeed. Maybe moving a little bit closer to his home in Tampa Bay would do him some good. Knox has fallen completely out of favor in New York and is no longer in Coach Thibs’ 10-man rotation.
Exploring the idea of moving Knox elsewhere should be a priority to get some value in return. He can provide Atlanta with a young wing who can hit a corner 3-pointer off the bench. What more could they ask for?
Reddish was drafted in the same year as Barrett, and many thought that the Knicks could look to Reddish at the 3rd pick in place of RJ. Clearly, this would have been a huge mistake but what Reddish would now supply the Knicks with is a player who’s objectively better than Knox and a longer rookie contract. Knox has one year left after this season available, Reddish has two.
This could be incredibly useful to the Knicks’ rebuild if Thibs is able to get more out of Reddish than the Hawks have been able to so far.
It would take me about 12 seconds to decline this Knicks and Hawks trade unless Atlanta were to sweeten the pot a bit
Not nearly as crazy about this one, probably more realistic than the first trade, but it kinda makes me queasy just looking at it.
At first glance, the trade looks pretty similar to the previous one; swap Reddish for Knox and then a point guard swap added on top. It’s when you break it down that it starts to make me feel a bit uncomfortable.
Love the idea of Knox for Reddish and if I didn’t make that clear in the previous slide, it’s because you didn’t read it (haha). The problem is that the Knicks already have a log-jam at point guard and the ONLY way I’m considering this trade is if Efrid Payton is traded for depth on the wing or in the frontcourt, and Thibs commits to starting either Rose or Quickley at the 1-spot which I’m not personally a fan of as of yet.
If Rajon Rondo could be compared to any other players in the world, atop that list would most likely be Elfrid Payton. We have no need for two Elfrid Payton’s…..we barely have a need for one.
Rondo is having an awful year so far. Through 14 contests, he’s averaging an abysmal 3.4 points and 4 assists per game. He’s also currently in the first year of a 2-year. $15 million deal and I would not want the Knicks to absorb that for a player so far past what he once was. The Knicks already have a point guard who can’t shoot to save his life, adding another one to the mix would make things super messy.
In conclusion, if the Knicks found a way to move Payton, and the Hawks added a pair of 2nd round picks over the next few seasons, I’d think about doing this trade for longer than just 30 seconds. If both of those 2 stipulations aren’t met, hard pass on this deal. Sorry guys.
Contrary to the last trade idea, this Hawks – Knicks swap would take me about 12 seconds to accept
Okay…..NOW we’re talking.
Hawks fans should thank the heavens that the guys over at Soaring Down South don’t have any pull with Atlanta’s GM, Travis Schlenk.
While this deal would somewhat hinder the Knicks’ plans on competing in the East come playoff-time a bit, it’s too good a deal to pass up.
Onyeka Okongwu has drawn comparisons to the likes of Bam Adebayo, one of my favorite non-Knicks players to watch play the sport of basketball. While he hasn’t done much to support those claims as of yet, the potential is just too good to pass up if this trade were on the negotiating table.
What intrigues me the most about Okongwu is his ability to shoot from mid-range and deep. While the Hawks are yet to allow Onyeka to “let them fly” from 3-point range, some of his college stats prove that the potential is there. Okongwu only shot 25% from deep during his days as a USC Trojan, but his free-throw percentage was pretty good, at right around 72%.
As some may know, a player’s free-throw numbers usually directly correlate with their ability to develop a solid long-range jumper, so with the proper handling, Okongwu could really live up to his pre-draft hype.
Adebayo took a few seasons to really find his footing in the NBA as he didn’t really break out of his shell until his 3rd season. Okongwu’s early struggles should not deter the Knicks from inquiring within if the former Trojan truly does have a ceiling that looks similar to that of Bam.