Knicks Rumors: Could Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be available for trade?

While listening to The Hoop Collective Podcast with Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps who’s an NBA writer for ESPN had mentioned that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be made available via trade soon and I can’t think of a better fit for the NY Knicks and their timeline.

If made available, Leon Rose should jump at the occasion.

Basically, Bontemps compared the Phoenix Suns’ situation to that of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s where the Suns had a star in Devin Booker, got themselves the 1st overall pick and drafted Deandre Ayton, made a huge trade for Chris Paul and now they’re in the Western Conference Finals within 3 years time.

The Thunder had a chance to get 2 picks in the top 5 of the lottery this year but only ended up with the 6th overall pick.

While most would be happy with the 6th pick regardless of how it was attained, not getting those two top 5 picks is a bit of a gut punch.

Should the NY Knicks go after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if made available?

The Thunder had a chance to replicate the Suns’ situation, but now it’ll be that much more difficult to pair ‘SGA’ with a star on his same timeline.

That said, while Shai is still very young at 22 turning 23 in July, there is going to be a bit of a gap between him and whoever else they could draft this year or in the upcoming seasons.

Having a core of 18 and 19-year-olds and then having Shai at 23 doesn’t sound like much of an age discrepancy but with the boatload of draft capital OKC has gone out of their way to attaining over the years, the gap is going to become more and more prominent.

This is what brings me to the idea for the article…could the Knicks realistically trade for SGA?

The Thunder don’t look like they’re going to be competitive for maybe 3-4 years.

Shai attended Kentucky with current Knicks youngster Kevin Knox and they were both taken out of the same draft back in 2018.

The Knicks have become a bit of an NBA funnel for former Kentucky Wildcats and adding one of SGA’s caliber could truly elevate the Knicks to contender status.

Not to mention, both Shai and RJ are proud Canadians so that connection is a notable one, too.

Would you want the Knicks to make a trade for SGA and if so, what for?