Daily Knicks
Fansided

5 stars who could be made available this offseason for the Knicks to pursue

By Desmond Novack

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics against Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics against Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Following the New York Knicks’ second-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat, many fans are calling for Leon Rose to be aggressive this offseason and pursue a star to take advantage of the team’s potential championship window.

Whether or not this is the correct decision, it’s likely the one that Rose will make and fans can understand why he may wish to do so. The Knicks overachieved last season and showed that they could just be a couple of pieces away from pushing their way into a championship.

This offseason could be perfect for the Knicks, as it seems like there could be some pretty big-time players requesting trades. Not all of these players will make the Knicks championship contenders, but fans don’t doubt that they would improve the team.

5 stars who could be made available this offseason for the New York Knicks

5. SG/SF Zach LaVine

If the Bulls decide to blow things up this offseason as they should, then it only makes sense that Zach LaVine could become available for trade. While he definitely wouldn’t push the Knicks toward contention, he’d fix some of the team’s biggest issues, that being three-point shooting and shot creation on the wing.

This past season, the Knicks ranked 19th in the league in three-point percentage and in the postseason New York shot the worst percentage of all teams in the playoffs. This is unacceptable and although LaVine may have a pretty big contract, there are no doubts he’d help fix this issue.

LaVine shot 37.5% from beyond the arc on 7.1 attempts last season. What makes this better is that not only is LaVine one of the best shooters in the league off the catch, but he is also a great shot-creator from behind the line, something the Knicks are lacking in.

It’s tough to say whether or not New York should trade for LaVine. While people will cite his defense and contract as detractors of his talent, these issues are a little overblown. LaVine is certainly not a great all-around defender, but he’s not as bad as some people would have you think.

As for his contract, a barely All-Star-level player making $48 million at the end of his deal isn’t the best thing to see. However, with the way cap space is expanding, this sort of money by 2026 won’t be near as hard-hitting on a team’s cap as it is now.

For the right price, a player like LaVine would be a great complimentary piece to add to what the Knicks currently have. However, if Rose is going to pursue him, he must not overpay. LaVine has his pros and cons as a player and the Knicks must know this before entering potential trade negotiations.

Home/Knicks Rumors