NY Knicks: Mock 3-team trade for Damian Lillard

The NY Knicks should try to maintain a competitive roster if they trade for Damian Lillard, and maybe a three-team deal helps them hold onto some efficient assets.

We have not as yet crowned an NBA Champion in 2020-2021, but the “off-season” already has me feeling like the greatest detective of all time.

NY Knicks: Offseason rumors have been swirling

Not Poirot. Not Columbo. Not even Batman.

I’m obviously talking about The Dude.

I’ve spent the majority of the last week feeling exactly like him. My head is spinning. I can hardly keep up with things that come out. Too many White Russians have made things a bit hazy.

Early in the week, rumors started to come out about the Knicks potentially having an interest in Collin Sexton. The deal would supposedly center around some combination of Obi Toppin, Kevin Knox, and a pick in this year’s draft.

The NY Knicks would then have to deal with the matter of his max extension eligibility and how that impacted free agent pursuits in 2022.  

Look man, I’ve got certain information all right. Certain things have come to light.

Then Friday was a wild day. The morning started with the idea that Damian Lillard was set to request a trade from the Trail Blazers. 

Lillard refuted that story later that afternoon in the least convincing way possible.

Some reports say that the Knicks are monitoring Lillard’s situation and RJ Barrett is on the table. Other reports say that the Knicks don’t want to trade RJ Barrett at all.

This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder’s head.

And then it hit me. Maybe these aren’t two unrelated strands at all. Maybe the Knicks’ entire interest in Sexton is for the sole purpose of rerouting him to Portland in a trade for Lillard.

The trade might look like this:

By making the move this way, the NY Knicks keep Mitchell Robinson and Immanuel Quickley, two incredibly cost-effective players. Plus, the team still has approximately $40.6 million to spend even with Lillard’s salary. That’s enough to sign a max-level player or grab a solid number of role players to run alongside Julius Randle, Lillard, Quickley, and Robinson.

But they lose Barrett and all his promise.

Strikes and gutters. Ups and downs.

Cracked the case wide open.

Then again, maybe I’m not The Dude. Maybe I’m actually Charlie Kelly in the mailroom conspiracy episode, and this reads like a wall full of random thoughts strung together with red yarn.

Whatever. I’ve already thought this off-season to death, and it’s technically not even here yet.

Forget it, Dude. Let’s go bowling.