The Knicks are 20-21 entering Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Last season, they had the same record through 41 games. Thanks in part to strong play from Derrick Rose, New York went 21-10 over the rest of the regular season and earned the No. 4 seed in the East.
The Knicks acquired Rose from Detroit for Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick. It turned out to be one of the NBA’s best trades last season.
If you’ve watched this year’s Knicks team regularly, you know that this group bears little resemblance to last year’s team.
Can Knicks management find another Derrick Rose-like trade to spark the team in the second half?
We’ll find out over the next few weeks.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 10 (less than a month away).
Teams have already begun discussing different trade options internally and externally.
Many clubs are in or near contention, so it’s hard to determine who will be sellers and who will be buyers at the deadline.
Much of that will be determined over the next two weeks or so.
Given the path the Knicks have taken to this point, it’s fair to assume they will be looking to upgrade their roster ahead of the deadline.
With that in mind, we asked a former executive about the approach they would take at the deadline. (The exec requested anonymity so they could speak freely about a specific franchise).
"I wouldn’t stand pat. You are getting (Derrick) Rose back at some point over the next few weeks. But when Rose was healthy, this wasn’t a good team. I think you should look hard at some of the young (players that may be available). Be aggressive. To me, the roster isn’t that far away (from contention). You add the right player or two and this (is a different team).
"The problem now is they’re back-sliding. That could make it tougher to (attract outside talent in the future). But if you add another young player and start to turn the corner (this season), you put yourself in good position (to continue to build the roster).”
So, who is out there? Teams talk – internally and externally – about dozens of players during trade season. You will probably hear or read reports about scores of players in trade talks over the next few weeks.
Here’s what we know at the moment:
As SNY previously reported, there are Knicks decision-makers who see Myles Turner as a trade target.
The Knicks are also among the teams who have had a degree of interest in Cam Reddish, per sources familiar with the Reddish dynamic in Atlanta.
The Hawks, per various reports, will make -- or are making – Reddish available via trade.
The Indiana Pacers, per a report from The Athletic, have pivoted to a rebuilding mode. Several teams expect Turner to be available ahead of the deadline.
If the Knicks traded for either Turner or Reddish, the club would presumably plan to sign the player to another contract. Turner’s deal is up in 2023. Reddish is in the third year of his rookie contract. So he and RJ Barrett will be up for extensions at the same time.
Given that dynamic, future salary has to be a consideration for any team thinking of trading for players like Turner and Reddish.
The Knicks already have money committed to 2022-23 and 2023-24, though some of that committed money can be moved via trade.
Even if they moved off some of that money, the Knicks would still be spending a significant amount of cap space on Barrett, Julius Randle, and either Turner or Reddish, if they traded for either player.
Just one factor to keep in mind as the Knicks – and the rest of the league – get closer to the trade deadline.
One other note: This is just my opinion, but I won’t rule out the possibility of the Knicks pursuing Jalen Brunson until the day Brunson announces his retirement. Brunson is a 2022 unrestricted free agent. He is a young, skilled lead guard.
Brunson has plenty of ties to this Knicks organization.
Brunson’s father, Rick, was one of team president Leon Rose’s first NBA clients. Rose also represented Jalen Brunson. Rick Brunson, a former Knick, has coached with Tom Thibodeau.
A few months ago, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon noted on The Putback that Dallas floated the idea of trading Brunson to New York prior to the 2020 NBA Draft in an effort to move up in the first round. Dallas values Brunson highly, per MacMahon, but the club could get a ton of value back if they moved Brunson between now and the 2022 trade deadline.
