The New York Knicks have found themselves amid their roughest rut of the season over the past few weeks, going 2-9 over their last 11 games and falling by double-digits in three of their last four.
With this, calls from both fans and pundits for significant changes have started to ramp up, and on Monday, perhaps the biggest sign yet that the front office is toying with such an idea was uncovered.
Newsday's Steve Popper dropped a bombshell of a report following the club's deflating 114-97 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, where he noted that there has been league-wide speculation "on the possibility of the Knicks moving Towns."
The veteran columnist would continue to reveal that league sources have confirmed talks have already been held with a number of teams involving Karl-Anthony Towns, including the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets.
However, the ball club mentioned that not only should be seen as the most surprising, but could also gift the Knicks exactly what they've been craving this season, is undoubtedly the Orlando Magic.
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Like the Knicks, Orlando is severely strapped for salary space, as their total cap allocations clock in at $199.86 million.
Because of this, if they were to partake in some sort of Towns blockbuster, it would likely come with them serving as a third party to shed salary of their own and add draft capital in the process.
Regardless of this caveat, out of all the teams Popper mentioned, New York should be most interested in the kind of talents they could potentially pry away from the Magic in a hypothetical KAT deal.
Yes, engaging with a team like Memphis could theoretically land them another top-flight star big in the likes of Jaren Jackson Jr., but the cost that it would take to pull off such a move would be quite lofty, both from an immediate and long-term standpoint.
Based on previous reporting, the Knicks have a primary desire "to bolster frontcourt depth" ahead of the February 5 trade deadline.
The Magic have an abundance of quality talent who would easily give New York a boost down low if acquired.
Easily the most noteworthy name Leon Rose and company could covet is Wendell Carter Jr., who not only is a quality rebounder (7.7 boards per game) and defender (111.3 defensive rating), but at 6-foot-10, is someone who can step out beyond the three-point arc and stroke it from deep at a 36.0 clip this season, which is ironically better than Towns' 35.8 percent clip.
However, the 6-foot-11, two-way pivot Goga Bitadze and the 6-foot-10, defensive-minded Jonathan Isaac could both be seen as lesser-buzzed-about options as well.
All players mentioned are attached to highly affordable financial pacts, with Carter's $58.6 million deal coming off the books following the conclusion of this season.
In theory, the Knicks could not only rid themselves of the long-term financial burdens that Towns' deal entails but also take advantage of Orlando's salary-cap hardships by buying low on a few of their quality big men with a few lower-end draft assets.
At the very least, it's worth exploring who the Magic may be willing to part with and what it would take for New York to add some of their cap casualties.