Here’s why Knicks shouldn’t target Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a trade
By Jake Brown
With the New York Knicks heading into training camp in the coming weeks, it’s yet to be determined if the organization is done making moves for the pending season ahead. Many names have been thrown around this offseason for New York to trade for such as Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray, but it seems like the fans have their eyes on Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Utah Jazz ultimately chose not to send Donovan Mitchell to the Knicks. Instead, he was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a large package. This devastated many fans who had been hoping for Mitchell. For those hopeful fans, they’ve now shifted their eyes to SGA.
SGA would be a great fit for New York, no doubt. With a six-foot-seven frame and lots of length, Gilgeous-Alexander is a great shooting guard that would complement Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.
The issue behind Mitchell possibly being traded to the Knicks was that both he and Brunson stand at six-foot-one. With SGA potentially in the picture, New York would be building something special within the confines of Madison Square Garden.
While there are many upsides to getting a guy like SGA, there are lingering downsides that could screw the Knicks over.
Here’s why the Knicks shouldn’t trade for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Oklahoma City Thunder are still within their rebuild, but with SGA entering his prime relatively soon, they haven’t put all the pieces together to complete the full rebuild. Chet Holmgren is out for his rookie season and there are many questions left to be answered for a young and budding Thunder squad.
This shouldn’t mean that the Knicks should go after Gilgeous-Alexander, though. If the Knicks know better, they should leave the team as is. Trying to bargain with Danny Ainge for Donovan Mitchell is one thing, but trying to pry away SGA from Thunder GM Sam Presti is a recipe for disaster.
Presti has done a great job in his time as GM for Oklahoma City. After failing to create a championship contender around Russell Westbrook, he shipped out all the assets on the roster for first-round picks. As a result, the Thunder now have the largest plethora of picks in upcoming years.
Presti’s mindset is this: SGA doesn’t exactly fit the Thunder’s time frame anymore. This could mean that within the next year or so, Presti could begin to shop the young star.
The Knicks shouldn’t talk to the Thunder for two reasons: the first reason being that Presti would ask for a much larger package if not equal to what Utah received for Mitchell. The second reason is that SGA isn’t the healthiest player. Of the 164 games the Thunder has played in the last two years, SGA has only played in 91 of those outings.
The Knicks can ill-afford to give in and trade for the next big star. New York (whether fans want to accept it or not) is in the midst of a rebuild. The Knicks have a lot of picks over the next four years and should consider keeping them unless the right package is offered.
It’s easy to move on quickly to a new star to trade for, but New York will stay stingy. Simply put, they won’t do it unless it is for the right price. As much as it would be nice to see SGA in a Knicks uniform, chances are that it will not happen due to many factors.
Having training camp and media day within the next couple of weeks should get fans excited for the season. New York can still have a great year without the likes of another star. With the young talent featured across the majority of the Knicks roster, it will take just one player to become a gem.
