NY Knicks Trade Rumors: Team clearly wants backcourt upgrade

The NY Knicks have a lot of cap flexibility and future draft picks, and it’s led to them being one of the most frequently discussed teams at the trade deadline. There isn’t any rush to get anything done, but one thing is clear: The team wants to improve their backcourt.

The Knicks have some great score-first guards with Rose and Quickley and a nice role player in Elfrid Payton, but the lack of playmaking from their backcourt has certainly been a thorn for the offense on numerous occasions. It’s a big reason why the Knicks have been up-and-down the playoff picture all season long.

Typically when fans hear the NY Knicks being talked about in trade rumors, they roll their eyes. Especially now, with the team poised for future success, why would they give up any more future assets for an older player? Based on all of the talk and temperament around the team, it doesn’t seem like they will simply pounce on the first available player. At the same time, we can’t just dismiss the trade rumors – prominent league sources are talking about them, and there is some potential for a trade to work out in the Knicks’ favor.

NY Knicks Rumors: Trade for expiring players?

Some of the biggest names on the market are on expiring deals: Victor Oladipo, Lonzo Ball, and Evan Fournier. We’ll get into Lonzo Ball in just a second, but with Oladipo and Fournier, they’re unrestricted free agents at the end of the season – If they’re traded to the NY Knicks, the team will have no control over where the player can go in the offseason, and it sounds like the Knicks’ front office is certainly factoring that into their potential trade package.

This is the approach many fans have wanted to see from the Knicks’ front office – A prudent plan of action. If the Knicks could land someone like Oladipo or Fournier, incorporate them into the culture that Thibodeau and the coaching staff have established, and have them take their team a step further and make noise in the playoffs? For a cheap cost? It would make a ton of sense.

Oladipo isn’t a superstar, and he shouldn’t demand a superstar bounty in return. He would certainly help the Knicks backcourt issues and lack of playmaking, but the team is also monitoring some potential long-term answers at point guard.

NY Knicks Trade Rumors: Lonzo Ball, Malcolm Brogdon

Lonzo Ball is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so the Knicks would have complete control over his future should they want to extend him. The 23-year-old playmaker would fall in line with the youth movement that many want to see with the Knicks. Like Oladipo, I think the Knicks won’t come in offering multiple first-round picks. It’s a wait-and-see approach. Lonzo Ball’s fit with the Knicks has a lot of people excited.

Malcolm Brogdon, although older than Ball, couldn’t be more of a perfect plug-and-play at point guard. The Pacers seem to be kicking the tires on what they could get in return for Brogdon, but if the Knicks think the price is right, it’s a no-brainer way to spend some of the team’s surplus of assets.

Will the Knicks end up making a move for one of these backcourt players? It remains to be seen. With that said, the reports from various NBA insiders show that the Knicks will be looking to upgrade at guard in the future. Maybe it happens via trade, or maybe it’s from free agency or the draft.

One thing is clear, the NY Knicks know where their strengths and weakness are, and the front office isn’t going to just ignore an opportunity to potentially improve now and for the future.