New York Knicks guard Miles McBride was just ranked by Bleacher Report as the fifth most underrated player in the NBA right now.
Citing his status as a "scrappy" defender and highlighting his efficient offensive game that, after last year's career-best campaign, now finds him labeled as a "double-digit scorer with a 41.3 three-point percentage and better than a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio," to writer Zach Buckley, calling Deuce a mere "valued member" of the Knicks may be "underselling" his impact on the hardwood.
While this praise of the combo guard is certainly exciting to see and, frankly, more than deserved, it could also be viewed as even more reason to believe that he could end up being used as part of an in-season trade in the not-too-distant future.
Though this may seem like a bit of a stretch on the surface, especially considering the fact that the recently minted NBA Champions should theoretically cherish the fact that they roster such a renowned talent, for those familiar with his contract situation, New York's future finances, and the previous chatter surrounding his league-wide value, this mentality is sadly rather sound.
Knicks sadly must look to sell high on rising Miles McBride value
Just a few weeks ago, The Athletic's Bryce Simon noted that McBride is "the name that stands out to me" when it comes to Knicks players serving as add-ons in in-season trades, while the New York Post's Bryan Fonseca branded him as the "best trade chip" on the club's bench.
This kind of rhetoric is largely sparked by two specific talking points: New York's future financial hardships and Deuce's expiring contract.
Right now, the Knicks are roughly $6 million below the second apron heading into next season with just 14 players currently under contract. Of course, with the looming contract extensions for guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and, come next summer, Jalen Brunson, avoiding the dreaded tax threshold will become far more complicated over the years to come.
Cutting costs wherever possible beyond this upcoming campaign will prove to be a must in order to hold onto this championship-winning core for the long term, and, considering McBride is on an expiring deal, he may be the first domino to fall in this particular area of business.
If mere writers are regularly pointing out just how tremendous a player he is on the court, then it should be expected that a ton of rival front offices share this kind of sentiment, which, come next offseason, should only up his asking price on the free agency market, which, in turn, could easily price him out of New York.
Because of this, selling McBride off by way of trade at some point between now and February's deadline while his stock is so high may be one of the best business decisions the Knicks could make, especially when considering just how loaded their backcourt depth is.
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