Getty New York Knicks wing Evan Fournier reacts from the bench during a bout with Charlotte Hornets.
The Kings just fired one of the opening salvos of the NBA trade deadline, turning Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson into Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb. However, sources tell Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett that they may not be done dealing.
The New York Knicks — who have been eyeing Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, per The Post’s Marc Berman — could certainly be party to their continued maneuvering.
With a current salary exceeding $20 million, another year left on his deal and averages of 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, with shooting splits of 46-40-82, acquiring Barnes would be a win-now play for the Knicks. However, there’s also some potential here to open up some flexibility for this summer and beyond.
Here’s a trade proposal that gets Barnes to the Big Apple while reversing course on a pair of moves from last summer that haven’t played out as the team had hoped.
Knicks Land Barnes, Get off Contracts
The trade we’re pitching with the trade deadline just one day away would shake out as follows:
- New York Knicks get: F Harrison Barnes, G/F Moe Harkless
- Sacramento Kings get: G/F Evan Fournier, G/F Alec Burks, a first-round pick in 2023 (via DAL) and a 2024 second-round pick (via UTA or CLE)
Let’s start off by addressing the elephant in the room here. Namely, the fact that the Knicks are sending multiple draft picks out in the deal.
Fact is, Fournier has fallen somewhat short of what the Knicks were hoping he could be given his massive salary and Burks, for all his gumption, is shooting well under 40% from the field. And both players are on long-term deals limiting the Knicks’ financial flexibility.
Getting another team to take your questionable contracts comes with a price. In this case, it’s two future picks. Thankfully, Leon Rose has hoarded a veritable bonanza of draft assets since taking the reins, so New York has a few to spare.
Meanwhile, that blow is softened by getting a prime-time player in Barnes and a depth piece in Harkless. Also — Burks’ has been miscast as a point guard too many times this season, and those minutes may be better served in the hands of Immanuel Quickley, a returning Derrick Rose and, yes, even Kemba Walker.
Finally, the trade saves a couple million now and even more going forward due to shorter-term deals and Barnes’ number dropping to $18.3 million next season.
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Follow Heavy on Knicks!Why the Kings Do It
For Sacramento, this move is largely about the picks. As much as the franchise is desperate to win as soon as humanly possible, it’s not yet in a position to do so. With this move, it adds future selections that can either be used to add to its young core or as part of a big, win-now trade in the future.
However, Fournier could be a draw for the Kings as well.
His contract may not be pretty, but the 29-year-old isn’t exactly chopped liver. Awkward though his fit has been at times in New York, he’s still knocking down better than 40% of his triples and putting up 14.2 points per game.
Moreover, before he got moved to the Celtics last season, he was having a career year with the Magic, scoring 19.7 points per game. As part of a starting five consisting of Richaun Holmes, Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell, he could do some serious damage.
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