It’s almost tradition that every year in the NBA, competing teams trade for role players on teams at the bottom of the totem pole in exchange for draft compensation and young players. For the first time in a very long time, the New York Knicks aren’t on the side trading for draft capital.
Taking from the less fortunate isn’t nice, but it’s just the way the NBA has been for quite a while now.
The Knicks’ record currently stands at 15-17 which is good enough for 7th in the Eastern Conference standings as this is being written.
I can foresee the New York Knicks being big players in the upcoming trade market and several trades coming over the next 30 days.
While the Knicks could “break the bank” and make a huge splash by acquiring either Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, or Victor Oladipo, they could also look to capitalize by acquiring some solid role players to solidify their depth chart.
I can see the Knicks potentially doing either-or.
The New York Knicks are “buyers” for once, but who should they “buy” at the deadline?
Since the Knicks already struck a deal with the Detroit Pistons for Derrick Rose, we’re going to be focusing on trades with The Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Houston Rockets.
These three organizations are clearly in rebuild-mode and have some very valuable assets that could really help the Knicks this season heading into the playoff race.
The way I see it, New York is only a few pieces away from being a 5th or 6th seed by the time the month of May’s games are said and done, even if they don’t make the “big splash” some fans are anticipating.
The New York Knicks currently own 8 first-round selections and 10 second-round selections between the upcoming draft and 2026’s.
Needless to say, they have some spares they can use to help bolster a roster that has blown everyone’s expectations of them out of the water.
Here we’ll explore a few interesting deals that the New York Knicks could entertain.
JaVale McGee would provide the New York Knicks with another veteran presence who has playoff experience as they make their playoff push.
I did everything in my power to create a trade NOT involving Andre Drummond to the New York Knicks because we here at Daily Knicks genuinely do not want it to happen.
Not trying to put that energy into the universe.
Creating a trade not involving Drummond proved to be a bit harder than I thought it would be because the Cavs really don’t have a lot of moveable pieces on the roster that would also fit on the Knicks.
Frank Ntilikina’s days as a New York Knicks player seem to be limited as he was discussed in the deal that brought Derrick Rose back to The Garden.
While Taj Gibson and Nerlens Noel have filled in admirably in Mitchell Robinson’s absence, the Knicks have not looked good in the past few games (as mentioned previously, this is being written before the Kings game so I’m not sure how well they’re going to play tonight).
This may be largely due in part to the lack of big man depth. JaVale McGee certainly fixes that.
Acquiring McGee fills a need for the Knicks while not imposing on Mitchell Robinson’s rightfully earned starting job.
Once Mitchell Robinson returns, the backup role can be earned over time by either Noel or McGee.
Mcgee comes with both playoff and championship experience which would be super valuable to a very young New York Knicks roster.
Ntilikina fits the Cavs’ rebuilding timeline as a young guard who can hopefully carve out a role as the primary backup point or shooting guard in Cleveland.
The Timberwolves are in disarray. Could the New York Knicks capitalize on the situation and bring the New Jersey native back home to play for two of his former coaches?
Them Kentucky ties baby!
Ok, unrealistic as it may be, the trade does make a little bit of sense if you squint at it and look sideways.
The Kentucky connection cannot be ignored.
New York Knicks’ assistant Kenny Payne coached Karl Anthony-Towns during his college years and a reunion would surely be welcome.
The Edison, New Jersey native also has some experience playing under Coach Thibs, and while that relationship went south pretty quickly into Thibodeau’s tenure, Towns surely has matured since then so maybe he’ll have a change of heart.
“KAT” is on the record ripping the culture that Coach Thibodeau tried to instill in the Timberwolves when he was there, and also went on to praise the organization on their hiring of now-fired Coach Ryan Saunders.
Saunders lasted even less time than Thibs did in Minnesota and watching what the New York Knicks are doing now under Thibodeau might help sway the former Wildcat to apologize and make nice.
One thing is for certain, Karl Anthony-Towns is amongst the best players in the league and would be the perfect fit on a Knicks roster as he brings elite scoring, rebounding, and playing to the center position along with a career 40% shooting percentage from 3-point range.
This would help space the floor for guys like RJ Barrett and Julius Randle to do what they do best.
With Randle’s new-found shooting touch as well, the Knicks would have one of the best frontcourts in both New York Knicks’ history and the league.
Karl Anthony-Towns also fits the New York Knicks’ timeline very well, as he’s only 25 years old and just entering his prime.
(Editor’s note: The Timberwolves would have to choose to cut or send players down to the G-league in order to facilitate this trade as they’d be taking on too many players to accept the trade without doing so)
PJ Tucker would bring the New York Knicks another veteran presence that would fit right in with Tom Thibodeau’s team identity.
This one is clearly not of the “blockbuster” variety but it’s still a fun idea.
This isn’t the first time Daily Knicks has traded for PJ Tucker and it certainly won’t be the last.
This is the kind of trade the New York Knicks could follow up with if they actually made the previous trade mentioned considering they’d be losing depth at the 4-spot in losing Obi Toppin.
PJ Tucker does not want to be in Houston, plain and simple. Ever since James Harden left for Brooklyn, Tucker’s agent has probably been on the phone with about 20 different teams trying to convince them to get his guy outta H-Town.
They’re not competing. They’re one of the worst teams the league has to offer. They currently have no direction and must blow up the entire team.
PJ Tucker is a savvy veteran with playoff experience that has the ability to guard pretty much any position of the opposing team aside from maybe the quicker guards and shoots 36% from 3…a perfect Tom Thibodeau kind of guy.
If I’m Leon Rose, Tucker is a target of mine only if the Knicks do use a few of their depth pieces in a trade for a big-name starter.
He’s the perfect kind of player you want on your team if a lot of the players have little to no playoff or just NBA experience in general.
Sign me up!