Despite starting the season at an underwhelming 10-13, the New York Knicks currently find themselves with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference following seven consecutive wins. That seven-game streak is the second best the Knicks have had since the end of the 2013-2014 season.
While New York is currently enjoying their newfound success led by Tom Thibodeau’s revamped nine-man rotation and much improved team defense, there are still concerns to be had moving forward.
The orange and blue currently rank 26th in the NBA when it comes to 3-point shooting (32.8%) and 25th in overall field goal percentage (45.4%). Defense wins championships, but scoring needs to be existent for a deep playoff run to be remotely possible.
If the Knicks decide they want to bolster their offensive fire power, a name that needs to be looked at is Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who inked a five-year, $215.2 million contract this summer. He’s in the beginning of the prime of his career and can be that “star” Leon Rose and the rest of the front office has desired so much since they arrived in the Big Apple.
Here are three reasons the New York Knicks need to trade for Zach LaVine
3. LaVine’s 3-Point Shooting and Overall Offensive Abilities
As made clear in the beginning of this piece, the Knicks are desperate for some 3-point shooting. While throughout their seven game winning streak we’ve seen a recent improvement, they still rank in the bottom five in the entire league in that category.
On the season so far (through 29 games), LaVine is shooting 36.5% from behind the arc. That’s almost 2% worse than his career average of 38.4% and almost 1% better than the league average of 35.6%. No matter which way you look at it, the 27-year-old provides an improvement when it comes to shooting the basketball.
Something that also makes LaVine special when it comes to this aspect of the game is that he’s able to create his own shot, particularly off the dribble. In the current Knicks’ offense, there’s a lot of catch-and-shoot action. Since most players in the rotation thrive by getting inside the paint, open shooters will usually emerge when the defense provides a double team. But LaVine excels at getting an open look purely off a one-on-one matchup.
If he comes to NYC, LaVine will also become the most multidimensional offensive player on the team. Already averaging 21.8 points per game (which would be the second most on the Knicks), the UCLA product also averages over four assists and rebounds per contest.
While his shooting would provide the biggest step up for the Knicks offense, his all-around offensive game would be a welcomed complement to the likes of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, both of whom have been the engine behind the Knicks’ winning ways of late.