The NY Knicks were unsurprisingly quiet at today’s NBA Trade Deadline.
They did strike one deal that landed Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier, and their own 2nd round pick back from Philadelphia.
They sent Austin Rivers and Ignas Brazdeikis to Oklahoma City and Philadelphia, respectively.
It did seem that the Chicago Bulls would be aggressively pursuing a Knicks’ fan-favorite target in Lonzo Ball after they brought in Nikola Vucevic in a trade with Orlando, but alas, Lonzo stayed put in New Orleans.
As a side note here, Lonzo staying in New Orleans is a very, very good thing for the Knicks towards their pursuit of the Big Baller Brand athlete, as it would be unlikely for any team that did trade for him to not match any offer other teams might have sent Ball’s way.
Who do you think the NY Knicks should try to sign out of the buyout pool?
As a life-long Knicks fan, I always expect the team to make big splashes because it’s what’s good for business at the end of the day.
Front office regimes of the past would make big trades without the team’s chemistry in mind, or thoughts on the future outlook of the team’s makeup, just to snag as many headlines as they could and what would end up happening?
They’d continue to suck.
I would have to imagine that the lack of movement today has a lot to do with Leon Rose taking a more shrewd, calculated approach to trades instead of just jumping on the idea of a hot name that could net the team a few wins today, but hurts their outlook for tomorrow.
Additionally, this is the first time in a long time that the Knicks can actually be players in the buyout market, as they currently sit in 6th place in the East with a record of 22-22 before tonight’s matchup against the Wizards.
Now that JJ Redick has been traded to the Mavericks, my personal favorite potential buyout candidate, there are not many names that make a ton of sense for the team, but regardless there are a few players who remain at least intriguing.
Here are 3 potential buyout targets the Knicks could look to sign.
NY Knicks’ Buyout Target #1 – Andre Drummond
I just knew Andre Drummond wasn’t being traded anywhere.
There was news recently that the Knicks were the frontrunners in a trade for the former UConn big-man, but when you sat and thought about the details, nothing added up.
First off, the Knicks were the “favorite” because they would have to give up the least amount of assets in order to acquire Drummond, but still, assets nonetheless due to their league-leading cap space.
It would have had to be around 3 end-of-the-bench players like Frank, Knox, and Rivers in order to make the deal work.
It was never going to happen.
If the Knicks were desperate for a solid center, then sure, it would have been silly not to make the move.
But to the person reading this right now, you and I could agree to disagree all day about what I’m about to say — Andre Drummond isn’t all that much better overall than Mitchell Robinson.
On top of that, the Knicks have had solid bench play from both Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson.
Why make this move?
I’m soo happy someone in the front office realized this because there were rumblings that many within the organization really wanted to bring Drummond in.
Now, the likelihood that Drummond decides to choose New York over say, the Lakers or Nets is slim.
But if he were to want to come here and spend the rest of the season rocking some sick orange and blue jerseys, and MAYBE we re-sign him if Mitch were to be moved to bring in a huge star in the offseason, then sure.
Even if Drummond wants way more than he’s worth on his next contract, who cares?
The Knicks did nothing but give up a little money for half a season for his services.
NY Knicks Buyout Target #2 – Otto Porter Jr
Otto Porter Jr was traded in the deal that landed Nikola Vucevic on the Bulls.
I would have to imagine he requests to be bought out as soon as possible, as Orlando is in big-time rebuild mode after trading away Vucevic, Gordon, and Fournier at today’s deadline.
I’ve explored Otto Porter Jr to the Knicks via trade and via buyout before and I didn’t hate the idea of either direction.
Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder if the Knicks would trade anything for him anymore.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweeted that OPJ is unlikely to ask for a buyout, but at this point, who knows?
Things could change in the blink of an eye.
Being traded as a player is probably a very emotional situation to have to deal with so maybe he feels this way now, but once he sees that being in Orlando stinks, I doubt he remains there for very long.
OPJ would come in and most likely relegate Obi Toppin to the end of the bench as the only position he makes sense to fill would be the backup 4-spot.
Due to his injury history, I don’t see the Knicks giving him starting minutes but could be a really useful piece off the bench.
Porter Jr has always been the player that leaves people puzzled because he passes the eye-test as far as all the intangibles you could ask for out of a stretch forward on the wing, but his numbers have never translated.
Still, though, he shoots 40% from 3-point range and would be a welcome addition to a Knicks’ team that desperately needs more offensive firepower.
NY Knicks Buyout Target #3 – Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside has always been one of the best defensive-minded, rim-protecting big men in the league and that’s exactly what Tom Thibodeau asks of his frontcourt
Not 100% sure if Whiteside would be bought out whatsoever as the Kings apparently think they can actually contend with the roster they have today and there is no real incentive for the Kings to buy Whiteside out as he’s making close to nothing right now and not signed past this season.
Regardless, it’s still a possibility as the Kings’ frontcourt is loaded and there isn’t much playing time available for Whiteside.
He’s currently averaging less than 15 minutes per game so far this year.
While he wouldn’t be guaranteed many minutes with the Knicks either, I’d rather be an end-of-rotation player on a good team over a bad one any day of the week.
If anything were to happen to Mitch again or Nerlens Noel, the Knicks would have no shortage of athletic, 7-foot tall, block-machines if they were to acquire Whiteside.
Regardless of what the Knicks decide to do, we as fans couldn’t be more proud of how the team has seemingly turned everything around in such a short period of time.
The Knicks were supposed to be in the first year of a rebuild that likely would have taken 2-3 years to get to where they’re at even today.
Anyway, I’m excited to get another win against Washington tonight, and then celebrate a huge win against Milwaukee on Saturday.
Let’s Go Knicks!