Collin Sexton traded to NY Knicks in latest B/R piece

After an eight-year drought, the NY Knicks are back under the bright lights of postseason action, finding themselves in the midst of a grueling seven-game series against the Atlanta Hawks that looks likely to go the distance.

Thanks in large to the stupendous coaching of the Coach of the Year deserving, Tom Thibodeau, and the per-game efforts from the league’s Most Improved Player, Julius Randle, the Knickerbockers have made their way out of the dungeons of mediocrity and into the stratosphere of respectability.

However, though they managed to nab the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference standings with 41 wins and, in turn, secured home-court advantage for at least round-one, this year should simply be viewed as stage one of their ascension back towards contention status.

Yes, while we all are holding out hope that New York can pull off an improbable run towards glory and nab their first title since ’73, all odds point to the team falling short of such a goal.

And that’s ok!

Like we already said, this is just stage one of their upward swing. Stage two will look to take place this coming offseason, as they look to add on some more pieces in an effort to inch their way closer to championship contention.

While many believe the NY Knicks will be active participants during this upcoming free agency period, as they could come into possession of up to $53 million in cap space, there are some who believe they should look to the trade market to bolster their talent pool on the roster.

Bleacher Report recently hopped into the proverbial pool of hypothetical trades that Leon Rose and co. could look to pursue this offseason and, in doing so, thought up a scenario where New York lands a top-flight young guard who appears to be on the outs with his respective ball club.

The objective: bring Collin Sexton to the Big Apple.

The exact deal concocted by B/R’s Zach Buckley reads as follows:

Citing New York’s need for more scoring alongside Randle in the lineup, coupled with the fact that their rotation is void of any legitimate long-term options at the one, Buckley believes that a deal involving a mixture of both young assets and draft capital could be worth considering should it involve Sexton coming to town:

"Collin Sexton just ranked as this season’s 18th-best scorer (one spot ahead of Randle) with a career-high 24.3 points per game. The scoring guard also paired that production with a personal-best 57.3 true shooting percentage.And yet, an NBA executive told Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer the Cavs could consider trading Sexton as opposed to giving nine-figure contracts to both him and Jarrett Allen.If Sexton is available, the Knicks should make the call.They need his scoring punch and secondary playmaking. They also should have enough touches to go around where Randle, Sexton, Barrett, Quickley and, assuming he returns in free agency, Derrick Rose aren’t stepping on one another’s shoes. Sexton, a career 38.5 percent three-point shooter, can log minutes on or off the ball, a skill he has honed as Darius Garland has come into his own."

For those of you who have been following us at DK — we love you guys — you likely are aware that we, too, have been big on the idea of trading for the third-year combo guard and, earlier this week, our very own Brad Dressler even concocted two specific deals of his own to send him to the NY Knicks.

While names such as Bradley Beal and even Luka Doncic (the New York media can certainly dream) have been mentioned as possible trade targets the NY Knicks should look to pursue moving forward, a guy like Sexton seems to be someone who can be a huge improvement at the point guard position within their rotation and would likely cost less to attain.

Though I, personally, am not too keen on trading away Obi Toppin, on paper this proposed deal seems to be of fair value if you’re New York.