Why the Pistons trade for Kevin Knox
As I was saying earlier, I’m only giving up the Knicks’ 2nd round pick next season in this deal.
It’s likely to be the worst of the two picks sent over in the initial trade proposal and seeing what Leon Rose and Co. have been able to do with 2nd round selections in this past draft, that asking price would be too rich for my blood.
Also, Knox is still on his rookie-scale contract while Jackson is on an expiring one-year deal.
If Knox is given something close to the opportunity that Jackson was afforded last year, he could very well up his game and overall value this upcoming season and be worth a new, heftier contract next summer.
The Pistons aren’t just trading for 1 season of Kevin Knox…they’re also going to have the ability to control his future as well, being that they’ll have his restricted free agency rights, too.
The Knicks on the other hand can substantially increase Jackson’s value as they did with guys like Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Reggie Bullock, but then he could potentially be due a nice-sized contract next year, leaving the Knicks with nothing.
The original article made a solid point regarding the Pistons moving on from Jackson here:
"The Detroit Pistons have made it clear that they want to get rid of veteran names that might not be part of the future. That is what Josh Jackson could be with other options like Saddiq Bey projecting as being much cleaner fits alongside No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham."
The Pistons should certainly try to move whatever assets they can in an attempt to build around their new star attraction.
And if anyone knows anything about the politics within the game of basketball, when you make fair trades with opposing teams, the front offices develop a rapport that makes completing future deals more easily.
So, if the Knicks were one day enamored by say…Jerami Grant perhaps…cutting a deal for him should work out a lot more smoothly after a relationship is developed during the Knox for Jackson trade.