Grade the Trade: Knicks push toward contention in mock Jrue Holiday proposal
Should the Knicks make this trade?
The least complicated part of the proposed trade is moving on from Evan Fournier. He isn’t in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation, and he wants to go elsewhere so he can contribute. Bringing in an elite defender as the starting shooting guard would be a massive upgrade over what Fournier provided on the court.
Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein are two of the most important pieces of New York’s depth. As much as fans love Quickley, there’s no way to argue that he provides more to the Knicks than Jrue Holiday could. However, IQ is only 24 years old, so in a few years, his level of play will surpass Holiday, who is nine years older.
As for the picks, New York would still have enough left in its treasure chest to make a move for a superstar. The tricky part would be, what superstar would that be? And when? There isn’t a way to prove that a player like Joel Embiid will be traded in the next year, and if that happened, there’s no guarantee he would go to the Knicks.
Trading for Holiday makes more sense for a team like the Clippers or Warriors, who already have several stars on their rosters.
Sure, acquiring Holiday would help to close the gap in the East, but at what cost? Holiday could enter free agency next summer, and what if he chose to sign elsewhere after spending one year in New York?
If Holiday would give the Knicks the boost they needed to seriously compete for a title in 2024, that’d be one thing, but even with him, New York would still be one piece away. Therefore, Leon Rose and the front office must sit this one out.
Grade: D