Tyler Kolek finds himself amid a quietly impressive breakout here in his third season with the New York Knicks.
With his trusty ball-handling, precise playmaking, and displays of impressively high basketball IQ, the 25-year-old has now found himself taking on primary backup duties behind franchise cornerstone Jalen Brunson.
While many fans and pundits may be excited to see Kolek flourish in his expanded role with the Knicks, the unfortunate reality is that this surge in production could actually prove to be what sends him out of the Big Apple.
Tyler Kolek breakout makes him a hot trade commodity for Knicks
Let's not forget that just a few short months ago, Kolek was widely regarded as a player to watch on the trade market, with numerous reports revealing he was even involved in trade talks leading up to the 2026-27 NBA season as New York showed an eagerness to chip away at their rising payroll.
Ultimately, nothing came from these reported negotiations, and Kolek still finds himself on the roster.
Of course, financial hardships are still looming for the Knicks, and, with guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Jalen Brunson all up for new contracts in the coming years, they may become even more desperate to shed salary than they were just this past summer.
With Kolek's improved production this year, his trade stock has only risen, which, in turn, could lead to a number of clubs dialing up the Knicks, inquiring about his services as we get closer to the trade deadline.
Given their financial situation, their lack of future-focused assets, and the fact that they were already open to unloading him this offseason, New York may be inclined to listen.
Mikal Bridges slowly proving to be expendable for Knicks
Mikal Bridges is also doing a great job of proving himself to be an expendible contract as a way for the Knicks to shed salary this coming offseason.
In the first year of his brand new $150 million deal, the 3&D wing has seemingly forgotten what the "3" and "D" are supposed to mean, particularly the former as he's shooting at a career-worst 26.5 percent from deep.
Through 11 games played, Bridges is posting truly putrid averages of 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting just 32.9 percent from the floor.
Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that coach Mike Brown has now regularly been pulling the veteran from their late game lineups, even when scores are considerably close.
All things considered, unless he can find a way to snap out of this career-worst rut, Bridges could realistically be on the chopping block this next offseason, which, in both the short and long term, would be great for New York's financial situation.
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