The New York Knicks have been linked to trade talks involving Jose Alvarado since December, with the Eastern Conference contender reportedly interested in a homecoming for the Brooklynite point guard. NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed that the Knicks' front office was rebuffed in an attempt to flip Guerschon Yabusele for Alvarado, describing the offer as far from satisfying the Pelicans.
Knicks fail to swap Yabusele for hometown kid in Alvarado
It's been clear that the Knicks are looking to find Yabusele a new home, with the veteran in search of playing time. He hasn't fit very smoothly into head coach Mike Brown's plans thus far. Fischer said on his show that Yabusele's contract was central to the offer they made for Alvarado.
"And the Knicks are, without a doubt, whether they're going for Giannis or whether they're still trying to figure out a way to turn Guerschon Yabusele's contract into something of real substance...there was some buzz over the weekend about New York, once again, trying to turn Yabusele into Jose Alvarado, but that never got anywhere super close to my understanding," Fischer said on a live show for Bleacher Report.
This isn't the only report of a failed attempt by the Knicks to deal Yabusele, with Michael A. Scotto reporting for HoopsHype that the team's offer of Yabusele and second-year wing Pacôme Dadiet for Jeremy Sochan was declined by the San Antonio Spurs.
It makes sense that New York is looking to utilize a young player in Dadiet as the sweetener for a swap involving Yabusele. If teams continue to rebuff their offers, though, they might need to give in and show a willingness to include draft capital in a deal.
Whether they'd need to deal Dadiet and draft capital, or the picks would supplant Dadiet's value in the deal, is unknown. But the Knicks have reportedly been willing to package young players like Dadiet or Tyler Kolek, whom they selected in the same draft, since the offseason.
Before Malcolm Brogdon's retirement unexpectedly cleared up a roster spot, the thought was that one of Dadiet or Kolek would unfortunately need to be sacrificed to make room for both Brogdon and Landry Shamet.
Kolek has separated himself from other young players with big-time performances in the Knicks' biggest games, from the NBA Cup and Christmas Day to last Sunday's bout with the Los Angeles Lakers. But while his team-friendly contract is appealing given the Knicks' proximity to the second apron, this could also present as the perfect time to capitalize on his value if it both helped them move Yabusele and significantly upgrade their rotation.
The Chicago Bulls, for example, have a true surplus of guards after acquiring Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons in a flurry of trades on Tuesday. Would they be willing to trade 26-year-old Ayo Dosunmu for Yabusele and Dadiet if adequately compensated with draft capital? The deadline is just days away, and Tuesday's trades indicated that teams are ready to get things done, Giannis or not.