How could Knicks execute a trade for point guard Malcolm Brogdon?
By Kramer Smith
#2: What it will take to get Malcolm Brogdon
Indiana traded arguably the face of its franchise in Sabonis to acquire budding star Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton, essentially, is exactly the kind of player Brogdon is, with a lot more potential to be great.
The Pacers were unable to move Brogdon due to the extension he signed with the club before the deadline, so he remained with the team while rehabbing an injury.
With the team looking to sell and retool, it is unlikely that Indiana is frothing at the idea of paying $22 million over the next three seasons to a player who will arguably stunt the production of the player they just traded tremendous value for.
With Haliburton becoming the new face of the organization, the squad is set at guard. But they lost a major player at the power forward position.
It’s good for the Pacers that the Knicks have a high-caliber, All-Star level player who’s similar in money to Randle. He did himself no favors in his tumultuous 2021-2022 season in New York, while Obi Toppin simultaneously seemed to find his groove late in the year.
The combination of these two catalysts spiked rumors the Knicks would ideally like to move on from Randle, similar to the situation that would allude to the idea the Pacers may want to move on from Brogdon.
What could a Malcolm Brogdon trade look like for the New York Knicks?
I don’t think a strong argument can be made in favor of either player as far as who is better. Both are similar statistically, under similar contracts, and close in age. Both players find themselves in positions where there is a young stud looking to take their position, with play styles that are too similar to be complimentary.
This could be a rare situation where the teams could do a one-for-one swap, a trade that fills a need for both teams and does not cost them more than it should. Both teams are already on the hook to pay both players above $22 million, so the salaries do not drastically change things for their cap outlooks.
Both franchises are simultaneously rebuilding while still looking to compete, so this trade does both. It brings fresh new talent to both teams while keeping the status quo on their asset tables as far as draft stock, veterans, and young talent.
It provides a unique opportunity for both teams to fill the exact need they covet while retaining everything they have been working for in the past seasons. It may be the exact answer both teams are looking for.
Brogdon comes with some injury risk, but he immediately upgrades New York’s most needy position overnight. The Knicks kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, as they off-load the distressed Randle and get their point guard at virtually no extra costs.
This is not to say there will not be other, better options this offseason, but simply an argument for a player and situation I believe could be extremely beneficial for New York. Regardless of who it ends up being, look for the Knicks to pursue some solution at point guard as we enter the preliminary days of the summer of 2022.
