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The New York Knicks are reported as being open to making some mid-season trades and, per recent rumblings, it appears that the Lakers could be a realistic partner for them in these desired endeavors.
According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, Leon Rose and company proposed a trade that would send Evan Fournier to Los Angeles in exchange for tough-nosed, defensive-minded point guard Patrick Beverley and fourth-year guard Kendrick Nunn.
“Before Reddish’s recent benching in New York, the Knicks originally engaged the Lakers to see if they’d have interest in swapping Evan Fournier for Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn,” Scotto reported. “Beverley and Nunn will both become unrestricted free agents after this season.”
For Los Angeles, such a deal would see the club add a career 38% long-range sniper to their arsenal to help improve upon their floor spacing and perimeter game that currently ranks 28th in 3-point percentage (32.2%) and 29th in 3-point attempts per game (30.2).
Even though the three-years, $55.8 million left on his deal may not be an ideal addition to the team’s already lofty payroll, his proven expertise beyond the perimeter and in off-ball settings could serve as a great luxury for the team to have as they look to push for a playoff run.
As for the Knicks, while they are reported as being the ones to concoct such a hypothetical transaction, the payout doesn’t seem to be as complementary as it could wind up being for the Lakers.
Though Beverley is a top-notch defensive talent fit for a Tom Thibodeau scheme, and Nunn is a solid scoring presence (averaged 15.0 points on 35.6% shooting from deep prior to 2022-23), considering they’re already struggling to find playing time for their current backcourt players, and are even already “willing” to take part in a consolidation trade to unclog the guard rotation, adding the two of them could easily wind up creating more headaches for the organization.
Having said that, should they be willing to endure the hardships that could be present throughout the duration of the season, by taking part in this trade, as stated earlier, both talents are found on expiring contracts, thus granting New York some highly-desired cap flexibility come free agency.
Though no specific date was mentioned regarding when such a proposal was officially made, Scotto noted that it was prior to Cam Reddish’s removal from Tom Thibodeau’s preferred nine-man rotation on December 4 and, since then, the Knicks have made efforts to packaged both him and Fournier into trade discussions.
Lakers Viewed as Good Fit for Reddish
If the Los Angeles Lakers were to take part in a trade with the Knicks that reads the same or similar to the one Scotto reported on, the main draw for the franchise would likely be the fact that they’d be adding on a recent top-10 NBA Draft pick for essentially penny’s on the dollar.
Selected 10th overall back in 2019, Cam Reddish has shown flashes of the skill set that made him one of the top high school recruits heading into his lone season at Duke and one of the most intriguing prospects in his respective class, though, unfortunately, has yet to show he can showcase them on a consistent level.
Despite this, however, SNY’s Ian Begley reported that there still appears to be a market for the 23-year-old, as he mentioned in a December 6 episode of “Begley’s Mailbag” that there have been several opposing front offices that have inquired about his availability, with one of which being the Lakers who, in the eyes of Jake Rill of Bleacher Report, could be the most ideal fit for his services.
“The Lakers (10-15) need some wing players who will fit in well around their star core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook (assuming he doesn’t get traded at some point). That would be a role Reddish could serve in” Rill wrote.
Despite a wildly inconsistent four-year tenure in the league thus far, Reddish still is viewed as an intriguing young talent for opposing teams to look into acquiring, as he’s a recent lottery-selection still attached to his rookie-scale contract (though will be hitting restricted free agency this summer) and, measuring in at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, he has both the size and raw skill set necessary to develop into a quality two-way wing.
Through 20 games played in 2022-23, Cam Reddish has posted averages of 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and just shy of a steal.
Knicks in Running for Wizards Forward?
According to recent reports, the Lakers aren’t the only franchise the New York Knicks could be engaging in trade talks with this season, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report stated in a December 10 piece that they could realistically be in the running to acquire Washington Wizards forward, Kyle Kuzma.
“Another team to keep a close eye on with Kuzma is the New York Knicks. Kuzma is represented by Austin Brown of CAA, who worked closely with colleague Leon Rose before Rose left the agency to join the Knicks as president. New York has several CAA clients, including Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein and Obi Toppin,” Pincus wrote.
Through 27 games played, Kuzma finds himself amid a career-best season, and is posting impressive per-game averages of 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 45.8% shooting from the floor.
However, despite his stellar play thus far, it is being reported that the 27-year-old “wants out” of Washington D.C. this offseason, as he’ll be a free agent and, in all likelihood, will be in search of a bigger payday than what the Wizards can seem to afford.
With this, should the sixth-year pro be shopped at some point this season, Pincus believes that the Knicks could prove to be a realistic landing spot for his services.
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