Begley's Mailbag: Is Alec Burks the Knick most likely to be traded to make room for Cam Reddish?

SNY's Ian Begley will be responding to and breaking down answers to Knicks questions from readers. Here's the latest...

@mark3_v (Mark) — Is Burks the likeliest to be moved to make room for Reddish?

Based on his contract and production, Alec Burks is probably the Knick getting the most attention from other teams ahead of the trade deadline.

Despite a recent shooting slump, Burks is still knocking down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts. He is a versatile defender and is effective off the ball.

Teams looking for depth at the deadline – the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and Dallas Mavericks among them – probably have at least considered what it would take to acquire Burks via trade.

So when you talk about freeing up rotation space for Cam Reddish, moving Burks is probably the easiest solution.

But you should take a couple factors into account here:

1. Based on his public comments, Tom Thibodeau values Burks highly. He inserted Burks at point guard in place of Kemba Walker earlier in the season. He’s used Burks in multiple roles over the past two seasons. He’s regularly talked about how important Burks is to winning. And Thibodeau has played a significant role in player personnel decisions. So it’s fair to wonder if he would be opposed to trading Burks for the sole purpose of freeing up time for Reddish.
   
2. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Knicks are looking to move Walker, Evan Fournier, and Burks to open up playing time for Reddish. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer notes that Walker, Fournier, Burks, and Nerlens Noel are available via trade. One note to add to that: People in touch with the Knicks last week say the club wasn’t overly interested in trading Burks to a team just to create a rotation spot.

According to those people in touch with the club last week, the Knicks were open to including Burks in a trade if it allowed them to move other veterans. But the club wasn’t interested in trading Burks alone to create a spot in the rotation. 

Worth noting here: Teams’ plans can – and often do – change as the deadline approaches. So it’s possible that the Knicks change their thinking on Burks and move him without including other players in the deal. But that wasn’t a priority as of late last week, per those people in touch with the team.

SNY can also confirm that Fournier has come up in teams’ talks with the Knicks.

The Knicks traded Kevin Knox and a 2022 first-round pick for Reddish. He has appeared in three of six games since being cleared to play by the team, logging just 20 minutes.