3 Players the Knicks could realistically pursue in an Evan Fournier trade

At this point in time, it seems there is simply no realistic situation where the New York Knicks and Evan Fournier will wind up mending their relationship with one another.

Despite the swingman’s recent statements where he publicly expressed that he “has hope” to play with the franchise this season while adding that he “can help the team” with his particular skill set, with the club’s offseason moves coupled with head coach Tom Thibodeau’s latest comments on the matter, it seems more likely than not that Fournier will remain on the outside looking in on a spot in their active rotation.

Because of this, it would likely be in the best interest of both parties if they were to focus their attention on finding a way for the 30-year-old to be offloaded to another team where his services could be more valued.

Frankly, with his soon-to-be 12 years of experience in the association coupled with his highly efficient scoring touch (career averages of 14.0 points on 37.9 percent shooting from deep) there is bound to be a slew of squads out there who could benefit from his arrival.

Players Knicks should target in a potential Evan Fournier trade

That said, though finding a taker for Fournier may not prove to be all that difficult of a task, receiving the proper return package very well could be.

Should the Knicks move the veteran at some point between now and February’s deadline, Leon Rose and company should be gunning to receive the best offer they realistically can for his services.

Should bringing back ready-made talents be a coveted outcome for the front office, there are three, in particular, New York should strongly consider targeting.

3. Buddy Hield

The Knicks are by no means the lone team who is having problems with a high-priced sharpshooting wing, as The Athletic’s Shams Charania recently reported that the Indiana Pacers and Buddy Hield are discussing trade options (subscription required) after their latest talks of a contract extension went south.

A player who has been linked as an intriguing target for New York to consider in the past, one solution for both ball clubs could be to simply swap their disgruntled snipers for one another.

Coming off a tremendous 2022-23 campaign, Hield wrapped up his first full season in Indiana boasting impressive averages of 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 42.5 percent shooting from deep whilst predominantly playing small forward.

Adding someone of his abilities could go on to help boost their shooting efficiency and, presumably, improve their bench-scoring woes, as the Knicks ranked 20 and 26, respectively, in both categories last year.

Even if he were to be just a mere one-year rental (his current deal comes to an end at the conclusion of this season), swapping the estranged Fournier for the more offensively gifted and rotationally diverse Hield could be a move worthy of strong consideration.

2. Doug McDermott

Considering they ranked just 19th in three-point percentage last season and were dead last in this particular category during the postseason, the sharpshooting Fournier does have a point when he notes that he could still be of help to this Knicks team.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear likely that he’ll be able to test this theory out moving forward, but perhaps trading him for other long-range threats could be a solid idea for New York to ponder. Should this be of interest to the franchise, the previously mentioned Hield would obviously be an ideal target and so would Doug McDermott.

An 11-year veteran who throughout his NBA journey even found himself suiting up for the orange and blue for a brief stint during the 2017-18 season, the 31-year-old currently finds himself on the roster of the continuously rebuilding San Antonio Spurs.

Already, the franchise has shown a willingness to part ways with win-now players such as fellow former Knick Reggie Bullock, so seeing Gregg Popovich try to ship McDermott out for a chance to contend in the prime of his career shouldn’t be all that difficult of a concept to envision.

McDermott finds himself coming off a solid 2022-23 season where he posted averages of 10.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from distance.

Along with his obvious scoring abilities, with his 6-foot-7 frame, McDermott could also, in theory, come in and serve as a backup option at the four spot that is still in search of a new commodity following the Obi Toppin trade.

In fact, considering how coach Tom Thibodeau often used Toppin more as a spot-up shooter, there’s an argument to be made that McDermott could be an ideal replacement option in the role.

1. Maxi Kleber

Though McDermott could, in theory, be used in a similar fashion as Toppin when taking into account his sound size and his shooting stroke, his more natural position is undoubtedly small forward.

Such an experiment could wind up being beneficial, but, should New York truly wish to prioritize finding a replacement for their now departed former lottery pick, perhaps a better option would be Dallas big, Maxi Kleber.

After having signed a new contract extension last offseason worth $33 million over a three-year period, the 31-year-old went on to post one of the more underwhelming campaigns of his career, as he averaged a mere 5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game, just shy of a block on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and 34.8 percent shooting from deep.

Considering the Mavericks are heading into a truly polarizing, succeed-or-bust season (i.e. anything short of a conference semifinals berth could be perceived as a major disappointment) along with the fact that they should be looking to surround stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving with trusty shooters to support their attack-the-rim mentality, a guy like Fournier could actually be an interesting option for them to bring aboard. An exchange for the aforementioned Kleber could very well be an option worth thinking about for both clubs.

For the Knicks, as touched upon already, such a swap would provide the rotation with a new backup power forward behind Julius Randle who possesses more size (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) and a higher upside as a catch-and-shoot weapon than Toppin did and shoots a career 35.8 percent from beyond the arc

As for the Mavericks, considering the impressive depth already found at their power forward position with Derrick Jones Jr., Markieff Morris, and recently signed Grant Williams, they could easily afford to part ways with one of their existing assets (in this situation, Kleber) to help diversify their talent pool.

Fournier, a natural wing who can slot into either the three or four positions, could be a low-risk, high-reward option that could help them do exactly that, all while providing them an incredibly efficient shooter to toss into a scheme that ranked third three-point attempts last year.

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