More attention is being placed on who the New York Knicks will trade for, not which players the team will include in the deal. The OG Anunoby trade was another step forward by the Knicks, but he isn't the star the organization has long been after.
As fans learned with the Anunoby deal, you can't acquire talent without sending some out in return. When New York trades for a star, the front office will have to include first-round picks and a couple of players to help make salaries match.
With RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley gone, which current players might the Knicks include in a trade for a big-name player?
3 Knicks who are most likely to be included in trade package for star
3. Julius Randle
This isn't a pro-trade Julius Randle rant. He's quite possibly playing the best basketball of his career and could be well on his way to his third All-NBA honor. Yes, his playoff resume isn't the best, but to be fair, he did play with an injured ankle in 2023. Maybe he'll be able to redeem himself in 2024.
Randle switched representation from CAA to WME Sports over the summer, causing fans to speculate that a trade could already be in the works. That turned out to be untrue, but it doesn't mean a trade won't happen in the future.
Shams Charania said earlier this week that New York is still interested in Karl-Anthony Towns after acquiring Anunoby. Action Network's Matt Moore reported that the Knicks don't want to part with Mitchell Robinson in a trade for KAT and that the Timberwolves aren't interested in Randle.
If New York were to work out a deal like the one mentioned above, a third team interested in Randle would likely be looped in.
No one knows which star the Knicks will trade for, but it's a move expected to happen sometime in 2024. In that case, Randle's salary could be included in the deal, meaning the end of the forward's time in NYC.
2. Quentin Grimes
With Immanuel Quickley gone and Miles McBride not being eligible to be traded before the 2024 deadline because he signed an extension, if New York were to trade for a star soon, it'd most likely mean the end of Quentin Grimes.
He'll be eligible to sign an extension over the offseason, or he'll hit restricted free agency in 2025. Grimes certainly won't want to be paid as much as Quickley, so if a trade for a star doesn't come along, the Knicks could extend him. However, after trading for OG Anunoby, it seems more likely that Grimes will be on the way out sometime this year.
The 23-year-old has had an up-and-down season in New York but has performed much better coming off the bench. Grimes is one of the team's best defenders, so even though he hasn't been consistent offensively, the void he'd leave behind would be felt by the Knicks.
Trading for a star isn't cheap, though. If that's the route New York takes this year (and that's the route the team is expected to take), it could cost Grimes.
1. Evan Fournier
If one of your first reactions to the Knicks-Raptors trade was wondering why Evan Fournier wasn't included, it was because his $18.9 million salary can help to make salaries work in a trade for a star. He'll remain in New York for the time being.
The Knicks believe that a star player won't be available until the offseason at the earliest, but that could change. New York always has the option to pick up Fournier's $19 million club option for 2024-25, which would allow the front office to use his salary in an offseason trade.
It's unfortunate for Fournier that he's been out of the rotation for over a year and hasn't been traded yet, an outcome he's been waiting for. He's even gone as far as to publicly say he wants to be traded. However, the front office has been wise to keep hold of him rather than make a smaller deal to get rid of his contract.
Luckily for Fournier, it's very likely that he's in his final weeks/months with the Knicks. Maybe by 2024-25, he'll be suiting up for a new team.