De’Aaron Fox traded to NY Knicks in B/R’s pre-deadline deals piece

After such a magical season that was 2020-21, finishing as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and attaining their first playoff berth since 2013, the NY Knicks have struggled mightily in 2021-22, and now, through 53 games played, the ball club finds itself submerged under .500 at 24-29 with no hope seemingly in sight.

As a result, in typical New York fandom fashion, the team’s faithful followers have been astoundingly loud with their opinions of this team and how they think Leon Rose and co. should look to address these current hardships.

Though there are those who are under the impression that the Knickerbockers just need to do some fine-tuning to the rotation during this year’s trade season, with dealing for a slight upgrade at a position in disarray being a popular talking point, in recent weeks there have been surprisingly noisy pleas for the front office to simply blow things up by offloading the bulk of veteran players found under contract in order to make way for a youth movement.

Should the NY Knicks take this deal for De’Aaron Fox?

Easily the biggest name mentioned within this recent veteran tear-down discussion has been All-Star power forward, Julius Randle, who has been scorned by fans and media pundits alike virtually all season long due to his up-and-down/ inefficient brand of basketball that, to many, is viewed as the main reason for why the NY Knicks find themselves in such an unflattering position at this point in the year.

Due to his unbelievable play last season, New York’s decision-makers obviously had to pivot at the last second from their presumed “let the young guns run” mentality, and, as a result, they saw quite a bit of success as has already been stated earlier in this piece.

However, as one can clearly see, this shift towards focusing on competing in the now ultimately has not lived up to expectations and, with this, many are now hoping to see the Knicks revert back to their original plan of developing young talents, and a clear-cut way to do this would, in theory, be to offload their veteran forward.

Of course, should the main brass for the NY Knicks actually consider dealing away their lone star they’ll obviously be looking to exchange him for someone of similar, if not greater value, and, in one of Bleacher Report’s most recent pieces, they are seen doing exactly this as writer, Greg Swartz, concocted a transaction that would swap Randle out for a point guard on the outside looking in on a top-5 moniker at his respective position.

That player: De’Aaron Fox.

The exact deal proposed reads as follows:

Citing the team’s ‘desperate’ need for a point guard, Swartz believes that this trade swapping out Randle for Fox could prove to be an absolute gem of a transaction for the NY Knicks:

"The Knicks desperately need a point guard. Fox could use a change of scenery to kickstart his career. The salary is there to match. It’s time to make a deal.ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discussed a Fox-to-New York framework on The Hoop Collective podcast.“This has been reported elsewhere, but I’ve heard as well that the Knicks have shown some interest in De’Aaron Fox. The player that makes the most sense in that swap is Julius Randle.”"

"The Knicks should be delighted with their new young core of Fox, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley and others, even if it doesn’t result in immediate wins. Getting off Randle and Walker’s contracts is worth throwing in the 2022 first if it brings Fox in return."

In the past, we at DK have often discussed the concept of the NY Knicks trading for the likes of De’Aaron Fox, stating that at his ripe young age of 24 coupled with his specific skill-set, he could easily find himself thriving both in the now as well as moving forward within this team’s scheme.

As you’re already likely aware, a Tom Thibodeau-led team seems to be at its best when it has a speedy primary ball-handler running the show who can get out on fastbreaks, infiltrate the paint for either a finish at the rim, or dish it out in a drive and kick, and who’s fearless when it comes to looking for a score.

By all accounts, this is a perfect way to describe Fox.

Now, of course, often when it has come to the concept of seeing the fifth-year guard coming to New York by this year’s deadline, we — mainly me — have been semi-bullish due to the idea of seeing him come in and share the floor with Randle who, like Fox, needs the ball in his hands and to run the show in order to be most effective.

Swartz’s piece, however, seemingly rids us of any such worry, for the point guard needy Knicks would land Fox while the big man needy Kings would bring on Randle.

Though there is truly nothing but personal love for New York’s stud four, should Rose and co. wish to part ways with him prior to this year’s deadline, it’s virtually inarguable that this proposed trade would be a phenomenal move to pursue.

As far as I’m concerned, if this deal actually found itself on the table, I’d say the Knicks should absolutely accept.