With an NBA Championship run seemingly as realistic as it's been in over 30 years, many expect the New York Knicks to be interested in making some sort of roster-bolstering move at some point between now and the February 5 trade deadline.
Though the majority of eyes seem to be focused on a possible blockbuster deal for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo or a reunion with Donte DiVincenzo, during a recent episode of The Putback, SNY's Ian Begley tabbed Kings guard Dennis Schroder as a player who is "on their radar."
Dennis Schroder believed to be on trade radar for Knicks
When discussing potential trade targets for New York, the NBA insider hyped up the idea of Schroder's addition to coach Mike Brown's rotation, specifically highlighting how the veteran "played really well for the most part against the Knicks in the postseason" last year.
While with the Pistons, the point guard played a major role in the Knicks losing homecourt advantage in Game 2 where he dropped 20 points to tie up the series 1-1, while boasting highly impactful averages of 12.5 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.2 steals on 49.1 percent shooting from the floor and 47.6 percent shooting from the floor through six games played in round one.
In Begley's eyes, Schroder in the orange, blue, and white threads would be a "big boost" for their second unit.
Considering he's a well-established super sub who, since finishing second in the Sixth Man of the Year race back in 2019-20, has posted impressive averages of 14.5 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.1 rebounds on 35.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, it's hard to argue against such a claim.
Of course, despite the presumed benefits of bringing a guy like Schroder aboard this second-seeded Knicks team, there are currently two main hiccups to a possible pursuit.
The first, as Begley pointed out, is the fact that in order to make such a move, New York will almost certainly need to add draft capital (something they have a limited supply of following last year's Karl-Anthony Towns trade) into their outbound package, for a deal that sees a struggling Guerschon Yabusele acting as the main asset being shipped out to Sacramento certainly won't cut it.
The second is the recent surge in play from sophomore Tyler Kolek. Should Leon Rose and company see his level of production as sustainable, then there's a strong reason to believe that going after another guard like Schroder would be unnecessary overkill for their backup point guard depth when several other positions (ex., center) could use some added firepower.
Still, should they find a means to part ways with, say, a few seconds and a need for more talent behind Jalen Brunson at the one, Schroder should easily be seen as a worthwhile target to pursue ahead of the deadline.