Getty Obi Toppin and Derrick Rose headline this proposed trade.
The New York Knicks may have lost the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes, but they are certainly in the running for more trades.
While they whiffed on one trade with the Utah Jazz, there’s still a chance they can trade for sharpshooting forward Bojan Bogdanovic to help salvage the talks. By now, the Knicks and Jazz should have a lot of familiarity with each other, but they’ll have to hope the relationship hasn’t soured too much.
The Knicks seem to be going through a youth movement based on their extensions for both RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. Instead of trading away their young core, it has remained intact. However, that might just be because the right deal hasn’t come across yet, and the Knicks might find that with this proposed deal.
Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney came up with a trade that would see the Knicks land Bogdanovic from the Jazz in exchange for former MVP Derrick Rose and rising forward Obi Toppin. It’s a little more complicated than that, however, as there’s also a third team in the mix here.
Knicks Could Land Sharpshooting Forward
The proposed deal would also include the Grizzlies as they’d be the ones who ultimately end up with Rose.
Here’s how it’d all shake out:
- Knicks Receive: Bojan Bogdanovic
- Grizzlies Receive: Derrick Rose
- Jazz Receive: Danny Green, Jake LaRavia, Obi Toppin
In the case of the Jazz, they’d land Toppin who would immediately see more minutes than he would with the Knicks because of Julius Randle being ahead of him in the depth chart.
The Knicks would get a proven scorer who could either start or come off the bench, making him a versatile addition, and the Grizzlies would get a strong backup for Ja Morant.
An Eastern Conference executive told Deveney in August that Rose is the team’s most tradable asset, so getting a deal done with somebody could hinge on him.
“The most tradeable guy (the Knicks) have is hands-down Derrick Rose,” the exec said. “He’s older now obviously and whatever happened off the floor with him, on the floor he has been such a pro everywhere he has gone. His contract is good, he has become a very good 3-point shooter, he brings energy, he likes coming off the bench. There are 29 teams that would be willing to take him—I mean, if you’re a team trying to win.”
Would the Knicks Give Up on Toppin?
Toppin is an interesting case because he’s shown the Knicks why he was deserving of a lottery selection, but he just doesn’t have a clear path to getting minutes.
He was a pick from Leon Rose, and it’s clear he holds a lot of value within the organization because of that. He’s been included in trade talks, but nothing ever came into fruition.
It’s tough to imagine Toppin being included in a simple swap, something that Cam Reddish has been linked to, so a three-team like this one floated by Deveney could be more likely.
Although nothing has been said publicly, it does seem like the Knicks will have to eventually choose between Randle or Toppin, and it’s anybody’s guess as to what will be done.