NY Knicks: 3 Kemba Walker trades team should consider

Would you consider this Damian Lillard trade for the NY Knicks?

Listen, if I did what I’d normally do on my ‘click to next page’ button at the bottom of the previous slide, it would have given away who I’m targeting here entirely.

I’ve hypothetically traded for Damian Lillard about 687,000 times so far and I’m just gonna do it here again.

The Knicks have kinda stunk so far this season, but maybe that’s because we all had much higher expectations after last year as well as how the first 6 games of the season went.

Not a lot of teams out there who have been more dysfunctional than the Knicks have been, but one of those teams is most certainly the Portland Trailblazers.

The Knicks seem to be making an attempt to fix what has ailed them through the first 20 games of the season, but there’s not nearly as much hope for Portland.

There have been too many rumors around the idea that Dame wants out ASAP, and although he gave the organization one last chance, it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to keep him around much longer.

I know I’m going to catch a ton of heat in the comments, as I always do for my trades but frankly, I don’t care what any of the naysayers have to say anymore.

The above trade is what deals for superstars look like as evidenced by essentially every single trade for that caliber of player in the last 5-6 seasons.

Go look at what was given up in the Harden deal, the Anthony Davis deal, the Paul George deal, and so on.

Half the people who comment on my trade concepts think Kevin Knox and a couple of 2nd round picks get it done in a trade for LeBron.

My major concern on the Knicks’ end of this deal is that they’d be very, VERY young once the dust settles.

For a team with playoff aspirations and then some, although guys like IQ and Obi have been out-playing some of the vets this season, it might hinder them come the postseason to lose that much veteran talent.

But from a financial perspective, the numbers add up almost exactly.

In fact, the Knicks would clear up about $1 million off their cap with this deal.

And I know what a lot of you are going to say…yes, the Knicks would have just one 1st round pick over the next 3 drafts, but I don’t see that being an issue, to be honest.

People tend to only focus on what the team is giving up in trades and not what they’re left with after the fact.

Having first-round picks is nice but adding Damian Lillard to a team that still has RJ Barrett, Alec Burks, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin is better.

Let’s also consider that the Knicks would still have Deuce McBride, Quentin Grimes, Jericho Sims, and Taj to round out the roster after this deal.

The Knicks’ 2023 1st rounder would likely not convey to Portland, so they’d still have that available alongside a slew of 2nd round selections between 2022 and 2024.

Even without the trade, the Knicks’ picks are going to be in the 20-30 range regardless, so if they were enamored by a player in that range in any of the next 3 seasons, they have the ammunition to get back into the 20’s if need be.

Lastly, even if the Knicks get themselves stuck with a bunch of second-rounders, have we not seen what they can do with those late picks?

I rest my case.