NY Knicks: “Pass or Pursue” on 3 recently rumored trade targets
By Mark Nilon
NY Knicks trade target No. 2) Marvin Bagley III
This next target is one that I find myself pretty torn on.
Averaging 21 points and 11.1 rebounds per game on 61 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep during his lone season suiting up for the Duke Blue Devils, Marvin Bagley III entered the 2018 NBA as a highly-coveted talent and, in turn, found himself taken second overall by the Sacramento Kings.
Unfortunately, however, through two and a half seasons in the league, he has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that come with being such a high pick, especially one that was selected over guys like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That said, despite him not necessarily producing as many had hoped, this is not to say Bagley hasn’t proven himself to be a quality player in the league. During this 2020-21 campaign, the big man his boasting season averages of 14.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and a half block per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from deep.
Again, by no means has he played like his aforementioned draft counterparts, but this has not swayed Buckley’s belief that he should be on New York’s radar this trade season:
"His talent intrigues, especially at the offensive end. He’s a clever post scorer who can also step away from the basket to face up his defender or even pull the trigger from distance (1.0 threes per game, 37.5 percent shooting). There’s some promise of three-level scoring in his future, and the Knicks could utilize it to bolster their bench and later to form some of their long-term visions."
Once again, Buckely does bring up some quality points: Bagley’s talent is quite impressive and the Knicks team could use it for “more building blocks.”
That said, as things currently stand, NY’s strength is within their frontcourt, where they have the likes of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and their most recent lottery selection Obi Toppin residing.
The fact that they already have these aforementioned talents in tow kind of makes justifying a move for Bagley a bit harder to do.
Randle, of course, is in the midst of his best season in the league, Robinson is an uber-talented shot swatting/ rim-rattling big, and Toppin is the reigning National College Basketball Player of the Year who has yet to really even get his shot at consistent minutes and is still getting acclimated to the pro game.
Unless the front office is strongly considering parting ways with their All-Star — something he hopes will not happen — or the aforementioned youngsters — something we hope will not happen — a move for Bagley just appears to be unnecessary and, in turn, could just hurt the development down low.