With there now being multiple rumors surrounding both the Bucks and Knicks between Grayson Allen and Cam Reddish, it seems like a potential deal could go down. Allen is certainly a controversial player, but I don’t think there are many doubts that he would help this team more than Reddish has.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing shade at Reddish as he could certainly be a better player than Allen, but even when Reddish has played this season, it’s hard to say he’s been better than Allen.
Allen is a three-point sniper with some upside on the defensive side of the ball, while he hasn’t been the best on that side of the ball, his ability to shoot the three is tantalizing enough for me to consider this sort of trade for the Knicks.
This is what a Knicks-Bucks trade involving Cam Reddish and Grayson Allen could look like
A slight bonus in this trade on the Knicks’ side of things is that they would be receiving Serge Ibaka, another member of the Bucks that they may have interest in. While Ibaka hasn’t been anything special this season and hasn’t played much, he could serve as solid injury insurance for New York.
Normally, it would seem as if a player like Allen would be worth more than a relatively unproven player and two second-round picks, but after watching Rui Hachimura be traded for three second-round picks and a pretty bad player in the form of Kendrick Nunn, it seems like this deal could be more realistic than originally thought.
Allen is one of those “villains” in the NBA that you hate to play against due to his occasionally dirty antics, but love to have due to his effort and three-point shooting, two things the Knicks could really use.
As for Reddish, as solid as he’s been this season when playing, it’s hard for me to say he’s been better than Allen, who is averaging 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.9% from three on 4.6 attempts.
Compared to Reddish, who’s averaging 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 44.9% from the field and 30.4% from behind the arc on 2.8 attempts all while receiving around six fewer minutes per game when on the court, it doesn’t seem close.
Honestly, I was surprised to see that the Bucks were interested in a player like Reddish, however, they likely want to bank on his potential and like that he has begun to play more team-oriented basketball this season.
Reports have been flying all over the place between the Knicks and Bucks, with the Knicks reportedly wanting Allen and Ibaka, and the Bucks wanting Reddish while simultaneously looking to move on from Allen and Ibaka.
The Knicks may need to upgrade their offer to pull this deal off, however, thanks to the Hachimura trade, it’s pretty difficult to scale the trade market right now. Personally, the most I’d throw in on top of this trade is the Bucks’ own 2025 first-round pick, which the Knicks own.
Not only are the Bucks still going to be good in 2025 barring some insanely drastic changes, it certainly seems like a player like Allen should be worth more than two seconds, so throwing in a low value first for what would be an important rotational player could be worth it.
The Knicks bench has really struggled this season, leading many fans to want the front office to explore potential trades to help bolster the unit. A player like Allen would be a near-perfect fit off the bench and would solve a major problem the Knicks have had this season.
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