Though we may have officially made it to the 2020-21 All-Star break, the front office for the NY Knicks will most certainly not be taking a breather during this seven-day hiatus.
For the first time in seemingly forever, the franchise finds itself boasting a plus-.500 record of 19-18 and, like their fans, it appears as though they are hungry for more.
When Leon Rose and co. made the decision to hire head coach Tom Thibodeau this past offseason, the idea was that New York, at the very least, would be a ball club that would find itself competing virtually every single night.
Now, through their first 37 games of action, the Knicks have managed to fly by these expectations, and now, as they look towards the second half of the schedule, they’ll be looking to continue their winning ways and, in turn, try to snap their seven-season playoff drought.
The NY Knicks are linked to several players this trade season
As mentioned earlier, this Knicks team has managed to surprise the masses with their play thus far into the season. That said, with the fact that their second-half schedule looks to be a tad bit more challenging than their first, it may be a wise decision for the front office to scour the trade market to see what they may be able to bring on to bolster their rotation.
Over the past several weeks, the rumor mill has managed to pick up its velocity in regard to players that could make their way to New York by this year’s March 25th NBA trade deadline.
Recently, Bleacher Report came out with a list discussing 3 players in which they believe could be suitable targets for the New York Knicks to consider trading for.
This piece got the creative juices flowing for us here at Daily Knicks and, in turn, sparked a desire for us to play a little game entitled “Pass or Pursue”, where we discuss recently discussed trade targets and determine whether it would be wise for the franchise to try and acquire them or if they should simply stand pat.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started:
NY Knicks trade target No. 1) JJ Redick
First on the docket, we see the 15-year veteran JJ Redick making his way towards the Knicks’ targets list.
Rumor has it, NOLA is “open” to the idea of trading away their sharpshooting two-guard, so, naturally, when compiling a list of hypothetical trade destinations, it is to be expected that teams struggling with their long rang game would be mentioned.
We here at Daily Knicks explored the idea of a potential trade for JJ Redick in the past, so this is nothing new for us.
Though they may not be a “bottom feeder” in said category, the 12th ranked 3-point shooting/ 29th ranked 3-point attempting Knicks could certainly be argued as a team that could use for a guy like Redick.
On the season, the 36-year-old is posting per-game averages of 8.7 points on 36 percent shooting from downtown.
While he may not be moving the needle much for this year’s Pelicans team, writer Zach Buckley believes the shooting guard could be an ideal fit for New York:
"JJ Redick wouldn’t hesitate to let it fly. The veteran sharpshooter had some uncharacteristic struggles early on, but he’s back to being his deadeye-sniping self of late. Over his past 14 outings, he’s averaging 1.8 threes on a ridiculous 49.0 percent shooting. As a veteran free-agent-to-be on a young Pelicans team sitting outside the playoff picture, he should be obtainable—especially to a team inside the Empire State. “There’s now a widespread sense New Orleans is hoping to move Redick to a franchise closer to his family in Brooklyn,” B/R’s Jake Fischer reported. The Knicks could bring Redick to where he wants to be. In turn, he would help them ramp up the three-point volume. It would also be a way of giving Thibodeau his coveted win-now veteran without breaking the bank."
While Buckley is correct that the Knicks are quite coy when it comes to their long-range game, and that the idea of Redick returning to his home state would be a nice touch to the twilight years of his career, frankly, the idea as a whole doesn’t seem to make much sense.
As seen above, the article brings up the idea that Thibodeau would love to bring on a “win-now veteran.” Though he would likely not cost all that much to acquire, the concept of bringing him to a team that really isn’t in a win-now mode seems a tad bit unnecessary, especially considering he likely would not be a long-term fixture for New York anyway.
If they want to make moves, they should look to add multi-dimensional players rather than an aging shooting specialist who, though has been stepping it up as of late, has been up and down virtually the entire season.
Verdict: Pass
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.
Verdict: Pass
NY Knicks trade target No. 3) Lonzo Ball
Lastly, we see yet another former No. 2 overall pick in the shape of point guard Lonzo Ball.
Coming into the league, Ball was perhaps one of the most highly touted collegiate prospects in recent memory. His scoring prowess was multi-faceted, his rebound skills were unrivaled by opposing one guards, and his court vision was simply a thing to marvel at for spectators.
Though, like Bagley, he has not exactly lived up to the expectations placed on him, the 23-year-old has proven to be a quality point guard in the NBA and has seemingly been improving every year he’s been in the league.
This season, we see the eldest of the Ball brothers posting averages of 14.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and a half block per game on 43 percent shooting from deep and 39 percent shooting from deep.
His stat-stuffing type of game is something I personally love and, according to Buckley, he’d be a perfect addition for the Knickerbockers.
"He’s a natural-born passer, and his penchant for playmaking would allow Randle, Rose and RJ Barrett to focus more on find their own shots. Ball could keep everyone else happy. For his career, he’s been good for 7.1 assists against just 2.9 turnovers per 36 minutes. He defends multiple positions, he hits the glass hard and, since the start of last season, he shreds nets from downtown (2.6 threes on 38.3 percent shooting). He wouldn’t be cheap to pry from the New Orleans Pelicans, though his upcoming restricted free agency should keep his trade cost from being outrageous. So long as that’s the case, he would be worth the investment."
Looking at the team’s current rotation, Elfrid Payton, though good, is not a long term answer for this young team, Derrick Rose is a tertiary player at this point in his career, and Immanuel Quickley, though proving to be quite impressive, looks to be best served at the two.
In the past, we here at Daily Knicks have gone about and discussed 3 options the team should consider trading for to serve as their starting point guard for NYK.
Today, we’re telling you Lonzo Ball should be added to the conversation.