With the amount of buzz this Cam Reddish trade has gotten in the last 24 hours, you’d think the NY Knicks just traded for Michael Jordan in his prime.
Trading for an exciting, 22-year-old who’s still on his rookie contract that also fills a pretty big need for the Knicks is such a savvy, on-brand move for Leon Rose, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to me when it went down.
I am the President of the Leon Rose Fanclub, that man can do no wrong in my eyes.
How he keeps getting away with these absolute fleece jobs is beyond me.
That said, the Knicks currently have 6 guys who play either the Shooting Guard or Small Forward position on the wing.
Should the NY Knicks trade any of these players?
Because the front office put such a premium on bringing in guys who could create off the bounce and bring the ball up the court on occasion, the Knicks are currently utilizing non-Point Guards out of position to run the offense.
Once Kemba Walker returns from his injury, it’s going to create a pretty big issue for the rotation.
When Derrick Rose returns in about a month or so, the Knicks are going to have to make the decision to move on from at least a couple of players.
This Cam Reddish trade couldn’t have made it more obvious that the Knicks are serious about trying to contend, or at the very least remain in the playoff picture.
Because the deal yesterday damn near guarantees that the Knicks are looking to make another trade before the February 10th trade deadline.
With Kevin Knox no longer on the team, the most obvious trade piece the Knicks had is now gone.
So now, they’re gonna have to get creative in who they’re willing to let go of.
Your favorite Knicks player may no longer be on the team pretty soon, so enjoy them while they’re all still here.
Here are the 3 current players I believe the Knicks should entertain trade offers for next.
Should the NY Knicks trade Alec Burks?
Had to start this one off with a bang!
Alec Burks has been a tremendous piece for the Knicks so far this season, Mr. 4th Quarter himself.
He’s fixed a lot of his inconsistencies this season as he’s become more impactful on a nightly basis.
Last year, he seemed to just disappear for a stretch of games and come back with a 25 point performance out of the blue.
I guess it’s because ever since the benching of Kemba Walker, Burks has acted as our temporary ball-handler, therefore the ball is in his hands more often which ultimately means he’s more involved with the offense by default.
That said, he’s not a real Point Guard…which is one of the positions of need for the Knicks.
He falls into the ‘bigger Shooting Guard who can kinda guard Small Forwards” category and the team has plenty of those at the moment.
The reason why Evan Fournier isn’t up here instead is that Burks has a much more movable contract and really any team competing for a playoff spot could use a guy like Burks.
Fournier’s $18 million this season should only be considered in a trade if the Knicks were trying to match the salary of a max-level player.
Burks’ roughly $10 million contract can be paired with a guy on a rookie deal to bring in a nice player or could be paired with someone like Nerlens Noel to bring in a contract similar to that of Myles Turner’s *wink wink*.
Currently, the Knicks have 6 guys that play on the wing with only 4 spots to fill in Thib’s rotation.
As I mentioned, it would be hard to get rid of Fournier, it would be silly to get rid of any one of RJ, Grimes, or IQ due to their age, and the Knicks just traded for Cam Reddish.
Burks might be the odd man out.
Should the NY Knicks trade Mitchell Robinson or Nerlens Noel?
Obviously, the Cam Reddish trade doesn’t directly impact the Knicks’ Center rotation.
But because it’s one of the deeper units in the league, the Knicks can pair one of Mitch or Nerlens in a package alongside one of the expendable wing players and get an upgrade at the position…like Myles Turner *wink wink*.
We all know Thibs loves his rim-protectors and he may have the best 1-2 combo in that category in the league.
But it’s 2022…the stretch-5 is so much more necessary for winning basketball games than it ever has been before.
There are only a few premier Centers in the league that can do it all with the basketball in their hands.
While Mitch isn’t too far from the likes of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, or Karl-Anthony Towns, he is about 2 or even 3 tiers removed from those names.
A marginal upgrade in several categories matched with the ability to shoot the ball and stretch the floor could open up lanes for Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
Even some sort of deal for a Mike Muscala as a backup would throw a little bit different of a look at defenses instead of Mith and Nerlens who are in a lot of ways the same player.
I like the depth the Knicks have at the Center position but they’re missing that gemstone atop of their crown.
If the Knicks went into the second half of the season with a rotation that looked like Turner, Nerlens, Taj, and Sims…it would instantly improve their chances of what they’re capable of come playoff time.
Also, an important factor to take into account is Mitchell Robinson’s pending contract extension and whether or not the Knicks want to commit to him long-term.
I have a feeling one of these two guys will be traded at some point over the next calendar year, but perhaps they’ll be on a new team in a matter of weeks instead.
Should the NY Knicks trade Kemba Walker?
I feel for Kemba Walker.
I know for a fact he was excited to get a chance to come home and play professional basketball in Madison Square Garden as a member of the New York Knicks.
But just around 20 games into the season, it was pretty obvious that Kemba’s time on the Knicks would come to an end sooner than later.
Yes, when the team was forced to bring him back into the lineup he made everyone feel stupid for doubting him.
But even with all of his tremendous performances, he’s still just a shell of his former self and I’m starting to believe that Thibs never really wanted him here in the first place.
The starting Point Guard spot has been an area of need for the Knicks for as long as I can remember.
I know it’s a priority of the front offices and Leon Rose to get that figured out sooner than later.
Kemba is just a stepping stone on the path of finally getting it right at the point.
Of all the players rumored to be available via trade this season, the ones that have been tied to the Knicks’ name were mostly all Point Guards.
De’Aaron Fox, Dejounte Murray, Jalen Brunson, and even (yuck) Ben Simmons would not only all be better fits for Thibs but would be upgrades at the Point Guard spot.
The two true areas of need and areas where the Knicks can upgrade the most would be the Point and the Center.
Of course, there are better wings out there but the Knicks can get away with not upgrading those positions because of their ridiculous depth.
If the Knicks could find a way to get one of the aforementioned PGs, I wouldn’t doubt that they make a legit run back into the playoff picture and then some.