For months now, rumors have swirled that Miles McBride and the cash-strapped New York Knicks could be heading for a split ahead of February's trade deadline.
A recent Landry Shamet prediction becoming a reality would almost certainly expedite this hypothetical process.
In a recent piece from The Athletic, writer James L. Edwards III gave his take on how he believes New York's bench rotation will ultimately shake out during the upcoming campaign.
One of his three predictions focused on Shamet and how he expects the veteran to average more minutes than McBride during the Knicks' title-defense tour.
Frankly, such a claim is far from bold.
After all, though McBride may have been the club's go-to sixth man throughout last year's regular season, averaging nearly three more minutes than Shamet, it was the latter who was not only more heavily relied upon, particularly in the NBA Finals, where he logged 24.1 minutes a night compared to Deuce's 13.3, but also came up huge during the back half of their championship run.
Now, due to his heroics coupled with New York's decision to re-sign him to a new four-year, $23.9 million deal, Edwards believes Shamet will now be looked to as the primary backup shooting guard moving forward, which not only should warrant him more action within the rotation, but would pretty much spark the beginning of the end for McBride's time in the Big Apple.
Rival teams already keeping close eye on Knicks, Miles McBride situation
The recent tabling of extension talks between the Knicks and McBride has only added more fuel to the fire, suggesting New York could be forced to offload his services ahead of February's trade deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
At least that's what Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line are reporting, as their sources have noted that rival clubs view the guard as "a likely trade candidate."
McBride is entering the final year of his current pact with New York and is coming off a career-best season where he posted 12.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from deep and displayed game-changing perimeter defensive skills along the way.
It goes without saying that the 26-year-old is more than worthy of receiving a brand-new lucrative payday, and in any other circumstance, the Knicks would likely be the ones looking to lock him in.
However, New York is in quite a bind, as they have multiple stars who are currently and soon-to-be eligible for extensions, and are hard-capped by owner James Dolan's demand not to enter into the second apron.
Considering their financial restraints and the clear extension hierarchy, it's growing increasingly likely that McBride's days with the Knicks are seriously numbered.
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