NY Knicks Postseason Trade Target #2 – Lonzo Ball
At this point, the Pelicans can take their pick of Frank Ntilikina or Kevin Knox.
I’ve grown to appreciate both, but their fit on the Knicks moving forward is going to be weird.
Frank would of course need to be signed and then traded, as would Lonzo Ball.
I think the sign-and-trade aspect helps both teams as they should both get the players involved at a lower rate than what they could possibly go for on the open market.
If the Knicks could somehow pull off this deal and get Lonzo for around $18 million per year over a 3-4 year contract, that would just be the icing on the cake.
Anything more than that would start to head into the territory of “ehhhh…..lemme sleep on it and I’ll have my people call yours”.
As far as the trade, if giving up the Dallas 1st in 2023 means the Knicks don’t have to get into a bidding war with other teams looking to sign Ball and save a few million dollars annually, I’m all for it.
If a pick likely to be in the 20’s is the cost of doing business then that’s a risk the Knicks should take.
For all the Lonzo naysayers out there, clearly, y’all haven’t watched many Pelicans games because the kid is a star.
He is the point guard of our future and the Knicks should do anything it takes to secure him.
He fits even better with the team’s current identity under Coach Thibs so that’s even more of a plus.
The team has been great so far even without a primary ballhandler, so imagine how much further they could go with a guy that will find open looks for the shooters on the team alongside Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.