3 possible New York Knicks rotations with Cam Reddish

New York Knicks Rotation #3: Rose returns

STARTERS: Burks – Fournier – Barrett – Randle – Robinson

BENCH: Rose – Quickley – Reddish – Toppin – Noel

OUT: Walker, Grimes

Tom Thibodeau has got some decisions to make.

Derrick Rose isn’t expected back until February at the earliest, so he has some time to gameplan before he’s faced with an absolute logjam in the wings.

The Knicks just surrendered a 1st round pick for Reddish.  Plus, he fits Thibs’ profile and despite being only 22 has been in the league for three years.  So, you’d have to expect him to remain in the rotation.

Obviously the moment Rose is healthy he’ll be back on the court, as he’s still arguably New York’s most important player.  So who does that leave out?

We saw that Walker’s return left Grimes out of the lineup, as he wasn’t in the rotation until the team was ravaged by Covid.

Unfortunately, Rose’s return will leave Walker out of the rotation, again.

Thibs will only play Kemba with the starting lineup. And with Rose’s return, he’ll be back at home with the bench unit (plus Reddish) that he’s gelled so well with.

After Walker’s enthralling return to the lineup, we were reminded of his chronic knee issues and lack of durability. He looks unable to play back-to-backs and quite frankly his motor just doesn’t run as well as it used to.

It will be awkward again, but Walker is the obvious choice to be left out.

All of this is to say that it would be very surprising if Walker was not delt by the trading deadline.  The team didn’t want to find room for him earlier in the year.  Now, they truly don’t have the minutes.

The obvious candidate is including him in a Myles Turner package.  Or maybe he’ll be offloaded to a team like Dallas or Cleveland for a 2nd round pick.  Fournier is also a possibility to be traded, but don’t a deal with him doesn’t seem likely until the offseason.  As long as he’s on the roster, he’ll deservedly play.

In short: Walker out, Reddish in.