Knicks should offer this trade to Mavericks after Kyrie Irving trade

The NBA Trade Deadline is a season of wild rumors, unsubstantiated claims, and, often, less drama than expected. Last season was a departure, with a couple of big-time trades, but this year it seemed possible that the maelstrom of rumors would turn out to be more smoke than fire.

Then out of nowhere, Kyrie Irving demanded that the Brooklyn Nets trade him, and suddenly the deadline had some heat. Teams around the league, including the New York Knicks, had to ask the question of whether it was worth it to trade for Irving.

The Knicks need to find star-level offensive creation to add to their team, and Irving absolutely brings that. He also brings more baggage than a family of four going on vacation, a continual flight risk who doesn’t make decisions based on the same logic as the rest of us.

At no point in the process were the Knicks reported to be in the “Kyrie sweepstakes,” however, with a bevy of veteran teams in the Western Conference making a play, some wild trade offers were apparently offered to the Nets, including one offer from the Phoenix Suns involving Chris Paul.

In the end, however, it was the Dallas Mavericks who made the winning bid. They sent a package to the Nets that included both rotation players and picks, the right combination for the Nets to make the deal on Sunday, days before the actual Trade Deadline.

While it’s highly unlikely that a player as high-profile as Kyrie Irving will move between now and Thursday, the NBA Trade Deadline is far from over. Now that the Kyrie drama is settled, other teams will continue making offers and it’s likely a number of players change hands this week.

Knicks could make this trade with the Mavericks after Kyrie Irving news

One of those teams still active could be the Dallas Mavericks. In moving Dorian Finney-Smith and taking back Irving the Mavs have incurred a defensive deficit, specifically on the perimeter. The return of Maxi Kleber from injury should help shore things up inside, but against guards and wings, the Mavericks are going to be in trouble.

The Knicks should therefore pick up the phone and give the Mavericks a call. The Knicks are incredibly deep and have a number of good perimeter defenders. Dallas is already invested in this specific version of the team succeeding; in for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. The Knicks could take advantage and pounce on the Mavs’ all-in push.

Here’s one way a trade could look:

The Mavs could really use a player like Immanuel Quickley, a guard with the wingspan to take on anyone from speedy point guards to scoring wings. Right now, Dallas will try to defend players like Stephen Curry and Ja Morant with Kyrie Irving or Josh Green; Irving is often a turnstile and Green needs to be used on larger players. Quickley would be a perfect fit defensively.

Dallas doesn’t have enough ammo to go after a star, so they could decide to use another first-round pick and build the team around Doncic and Irving that they need to compete. Quickley is young, too, so they wouldn’t be narrowing their window in any way.

For the Knicks, they can flip Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who appears to be on the trading block and get back a future first-round pick and young guard Jaden Hardy. Reggie Bullock is a throw-in to make the salaries work, but he played his best basketball with the Knicks a few years ago and could rehabilitate himself into having positive value down the road.

This isn’t a blockbuster deal, and both teams have reason to like it and to hate it. In the end, it’s a way for the Knicks to get a valuable asset from a team that has pushed its chips into the middle of the table.

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