Trade SZN is in full swing! Ever since the Derrick Rose acquisition, Austin Rivers has joined Coach Thibodeau’s Island of Misfit Toys and has been completely phased out of the New York Knicks‘ rotation.
Austin Rivers had his fair share of moments off of the Knicks’ bench this year but has been far too inconsistent to remain a key cog in New York’s machine.
Some of those moments include a 15 point performance against Indiana where he shot 3 for 6 from deep in a huge Knicks win and a blistering 23 point performance off the bench in a huge win against the NBA’s best team, Utah Jazz.
I’m personally a huge fan of Austin Rivers, as he’s a true student of the game, and while he doesn’t possess the elite skills you need to compete at a very high level in the league, he makes due off his basketball IQ and will to win.
His competitive spirit is unmatched and I would hate to see him go but I also want the Knicks to get better and he could be a very valuable trade chip for Leon Rose and co.
The Knicks need a few things in order to achieve that: shooting, a better facilitating point guard, and a better wing than Reggie Bullock or Alec Burks.
Keeping Rivers around as a filler on the bench that can come in and back up for either Rose or Quickley if either were to go down is a valuable piece to have, but I think his days in New York might be numbered.
We know how valuable and special the Knicks’ second-unit has been lately and if either of the two guards were to go down, it wouldn’t be pretty.
Should the Knicks pursue a trade for currently-benched Austin Rivers?
In this article, I’m going to switch it up a bit from my normal trade pieces where instead of just finding three different trades, I’m going to explore three levels of trades instead.
What I mean is that I’m going to explore a minor move where the trade will add value to the team but the player(s) the Knicks get in return probably won’t have a much more significant impact over Rivers.
The second one will be a trade where the Knicks receive a key rotational piece in exchange for Rivers and other assets.
Lastly, Austin Rivers will be just a small throw-in piece as a part of a much larger deal.
Here goes nothing…