NY Knicks: Does a trade for Malik Beasley make sense?

Malik Beasley to the NY Knicks? Let’s explore the idea.

Let’s face it, the Minnesota Timberwolves are an absolute dumpster fire.

They made moves in the offseason to try to compete now, and before even the all-star break, their season is objectively over.

First, they traded for D’Angelo Russell to try to keep their Superstar Center, Karl-Anthony Towns happy by bringing in one of his close friends. That failed pretty quickly as the Wolves weren’t playing well when he was healthy, and then “D-Lo” went down to a knee injury that required surgery, sidelining him for 4-6 weeks.

They traded for Ricky Rubio, re-signed Malik Beasley to a nice contract, and drafted Anthony Edwards with the goal of actually making the playoffs and alas, all for nothing.

They’ve also fired their coach Ryan Saunders mid-way through the season after only roughly two years of tenure.

The team needs to blow it all up. Keep the young pups and start trading whoever they can for draft capital to rebuild.

Should the NY Knicks see if Malik Beasley is available?

Malik Beasley is currently serving a 12-game suspension after pleading guilty to a felony count of threats of violence as a result of an incident in September.

While the former Florida State Seminole surely comes with some baggage, his talent cannot be ignored.

Malik Beasley broke out during his last couple of seasons with the Nuggets coming off the bench and was then moved as a part of a 4 team trade to Minnesota.

Since then, Beasley has done nothing but score the basketball at a high level, putting up 20.5 points per game this season.

He’s also a decent playmaker at the 2-spot, averaging 2.5 dimes per game as well as almost 5 boards per contest.

Malik Beasley also shoots the 3-ball at nearly 41% on 8.7 attempts per game.

Due to the team clearly needing to dump salary and rebuild, along with Malik Beasley’s current suspension, his trade value is at an all-time low and this is the deal I worked up for him to come to the Knicks:

Although it’s not much of a return for Minnesota, I think this get’s it done as they don’t have much leverage in the ordeal.

This trade may also serve as a precursor to a Karl-Anthony Towns deal in the future, as this will have been the 2nd trade between the 2 organizations since this most recent offseason where the team traded Ed Davis to Minnesota essentially for draft capital back in November of 2020. They say 3rd times the charm, right?

Malik Beasley recently signed a 4-year, $60 million extension, so the contract itself is relatively team-friendly. Would add a nice piece to the Knicks’ roster and wouldn’t hinder their ability to make other moves in free agency or via trade.

Jake Layman would also be included in the deal as the Knicks would look to absorb his contract to help further along with the Timberwolves’ rebuilding efforts.

He’s only making around $4 million this season and next so he could easily be used as a salary filler in the offseason if the Knicks decide to pull off a big trade with any team in the near future.

#TradeSZN