The New York Knicks are a team looking to make a move up the Eastern Conference totem pole after finishing the 2022-23 campaign in the number five seed and coming within just two wins of advancing to their first Conference Finals berth since 2000.
To many, the way for them to do this is seemingly to make a major splash on the trade market to attain more star power to better support their top talents in Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.
In many hypothetical trade scenarios, RJ Barrett is seen as a primary outbound asset to acquire coveted players across the association.
Considering his sound counting stats of 19.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists over the last two seasons, coupled with his status of being a recent top-three NBA Draft selection, it’s easy to see why the belief is his inclusion in a deal would be vital to entice another club to part with their own desired baller in the first place.
That said, in some mock-trade scenarios found scattered across the web, the wing’s name is included when it likely would be more beneficial to simply hold onto him instead.
Rumored trade targets Knicks should not trade RJ Barrett for
By no means should Barrett be viewed as an “untouchable” commodity on the Knicks. Frankly, aside from maybe Brunson, they have no such asset.
However, there are a few popular targets out there that are just not worth Leon Rose and company parting ways with their soon-to-be fifth-year forward for.