NY Knicks: “Pass or Pursue” on 3 recently proposed trade ideas
By Mark Nilon
NY Knicks trade idea No. 1) Kemba Walker heads home
Perhaps the biggest gripe people had with the New York Knicks this past season was that their point guard play for the majority of the year was unbelievably underwhelming.
Because of this, it is the belief of many that the front office should focus the bulk of their offseason attention on trying to find a way to upgrade the position prior to October’s tip-off.
Though there will be a few options the team may wish to consider pursuing on the open market, E.S.M writer, Alexander Wilson, is seemingly open to the idea of the team trading for a new starting floor general, and here we see him proposing the idea of the NY Knicks engaging in talks with Oklahoma City to land New York native, Kemba Walker.
Coming off a grueling season where he was in and out of the lineup due to nagging injuries, the veteran was shipped out of Boston within weeks of their first-round loss to the Brooklyn Nets and now, with the Thunder, it’s perceived as only a matter of time before he’s flipped by General Manager, Sam Presti, for draft capital so they can continue adding to their illustrious collection.
Though certainly a risky move for the Knickerbockers to consider, for Walker is on the “wrong side” of 30, has proven to be injury-prone of late, and is attached to a $36.8 million-per-year salary through 2023, Wilson believes that the risk of such a transaction could prove to be worth the potential reward:
"Walker hasn’t played over 56 games in three years but is only one year removed from being an All-Star in four consecutive campaigns. He regularly averages over 20 points per game and is a solid facilitator but struggled from range this past season, shooting 36% over 8.2 attempts per contest. If he’s healthy, he’s capable of leading an offense admirably, but his contract is quite lofty for a team that might not value him as a consistent option due to his health history."
From a skill-set perspective, Kemba Walker is absolutely phenomenal and, even in a down year like this past one, still managed to post 19.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.4 boards, and 1.1 steals per game.
That said, with his hard to look past health ailments (which Wilson mentioned often) coupled with his even more eye-popping payday, not even New York’s need for a point guard or the “hometown hero” narrative should sway the front office into the direction of making such a deal, especially considering that they’d be parting with both of their 2021 first-round picks.