Will Knicks part ways with a young defender ahead of trade deadline?
The trade deadline will be here before we know it, and after failing to make a trade last February, the New York Knicks should do the opposite in 2023.
Two veterans that should be traded are Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose. Fournier hasn’t played in over a week after falling out of the rotation and Rose is nearly averaging a career-low in minutes. Rose can serve as a backup point guard for a contending team, while Fournier’s drop in production and contract will make it difficult to find a suitable deal for him.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last week that the Knicks have “shown a willingness” to discuss Immanuel Quickley. That came after SNY’s Ian Begley reported that New York had begun to receive calls about IQ. The news that the team was listening to offers for the 23-year-old guard didn’t sit right with Knicks fans, especially because Quickley has been the Knicks’ best perimeter defender.
HoopsHype reported that Fournier, Rose, and IQ are New York’s top trade candidates, but Michael Scotto added that NBA executives believe that Miles McBride is available.
Will Knicks trade either Immanuel Quickley or Miles McBride before February deadline?
Immanuel Quickley has been off to a rough start offensively as he’s shooting a career-low 35.6% from the field and 27% from three. However, his impact on defense is a different story. In the 106-103 win over the Nuggets on Nov. 16, Denver players shot 21.4% when being defended by Quickley. During the final play of the game, IQ’s lockdown defense on Jamal Murray kept him from getting a good shot off.
As for Deuce McBride, he’s been buried in New York’s rotation after a string of promising performances at Summer League this past July. The 22-year-old guard has played in only seven games and is averaging a little over five minutes. In the loss against the Suns, McBride played in a season-high 14 minutes and finished with nine points (4-of-6) and one steal in 14 minutes.
Deuce’s sample size is much smaller than Quickley’s, but for a team that’s been abysmal defensively, it’s been puzzling as to why the Knicks haven’t turned to McBride. Tom Thibodeau has said that he “loves” Deuce’s defense, but you wouldn’t know that. Because of New York’s logjam at guard, he’s been a non-factor. If McBride were to be traded, he’d be able to earn more minutes on another team, so it could turn out to be a positive for his development.
As for Quickley, he shouldn’t be traded, especially if both Fournier and Rose end up being dealt. Even though Fournier has fallen out of the rotation, trading Rose would open up more minutes for IQ. And if McBride ends up hanging around past the deadline, he could see an increase in minutes too if the Knicks address their logjam at guard by trading two of their veteran guards. That should be New York’s priority — finding trade partners for Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose.
