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Though they may not have a bonafide superstar in their midst, the New York Knicks find themselves rostering several highly impressive talents that, to many, are seen as individuals who could help other clubs address some of their on-court struggles.
Perhaps the most oft-buzzed-about team of late that could find themselves pursuing one of Tom Thibodeau’s players this season is the Dallas Mavericks, who, despite just coming off a Conference Finals appearance in 2021-22 and the fact that they roster one of the game’s brightest stars in Luka Doncic, find themselves plateauing through 46 games played and, in turn, need some fine-tuning.
When discussing the concept of “what kind of help” Dallas could use on a January 18 airing of NBA Countdown, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose adamantly stated that their own 2022 free agency departee and current Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is someone they could benefit from having within their ranks.
“You ready for the elephant in the room? Jalen Brunson…he was right there on their team. They should have did everything they could to keep. I mean, come on now…They had him on their team and now he goes to New York, solidifies their position and he may be an All-Star. All of the guys you’re going to talk about now aren’t playing the way he’s playing. And by the way, did you see how he balled in the playoffs last year versus the Suns? He balled last year. So, again, I like to look at what Denver has done to build around (Nikola Jokic), and the Mavs have time to do that, but man they had the guy in their locker room and they let him get away,” Rose said.
A second-round pick by the Dallas Mavericks back in 2018, throughout his four-year tenure with the team, Brunson saw himself improving with every passing season and, during his final run in 2021-22, he went on to post stellar per-game averages of 16.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds on 50.2% shooting from the floor and 37.3% shooting from deep whilst predominantly serving as the team’s starting two guard.
Under the bright lights of the NBA postseason is where the New Jersey native managed to reach even greater heights and, ultimately, thrust himself into the conversation of being perhaps the most coveted impending free agent guard, as he put up sensational averages of 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists through three highly competitive rounds of action.
It is because of this level of play that he was able to secure a lucrative four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks this past summer, where, through 43 games played with the franchise, he finds himself seemingly on the cusp of his first All-Star nod as he finds himself posting career-highs all-across the board with 22.6 points, 6.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and a steal per game.
The type of production Jalen Brunson is putting forth during his first season in New York is ironically the exact thing that Jalen Rose believes the Mavericks currently find themselves missing.
Dallas Could Inquire About Other Knicks Players
Though the ship has undoubtedly sailed for the Mavericks to bring back Jalen Brunson, this is not to say that they can’t still come to an agreement with the Knicks to bring on one of their other, non-foundational players.
A January 18 report by NBA Insider Marc Stein revealed that Dallas has emerged as one of several other teams who have expressed interest in trading for New York’s fourth-year forward Cam Reddish, and, per the report, Leon Rose and company are mutually interested in making a deal work.
“Sources say that the Knicks, though, are angling for Dallas to send Thibodeau favorite Reggie Bullock to New York in a Reddish deal, who is likewise held in high regard by the Mavericks,” Stein wrote.
Along with Reddish, the staff at Dallas Basketball of FanNation’s Fastbreak seem to believe that the Mavericks may also want to inquire about the Knicks’ veteran point guard Derrick Rose, who, despite being on the outside looking in on the team’s nine-man rotation, is still viewed as a solid contributor who, since 2019, boasts averages of 14.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and just shy of a steal per game on 47.2% shooting from the floor and 35.7% shooting from deep.
Knicks Guard Getting ‘Considerable’ Trade Interest
Jalen Brunson isn’t the only hot commodity found in the backcourt for the New York Knicks, as Marc Stein recently reported that several organizations have shown an interest in pursuing a deal for third-year point guard, Immanuel Quickley.
“The Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley has generated considerable external interest, league sources say, but the strong signals emanating from Gotham indicate that New York is increasingly reluctant to part with him,” Stein wrote.
Though reports from earlier in the season suggested that the Knicks could be willing to offload Quickley, his recent play has seemingly put an end to such chatter, as SNY’s Ian Begley stated in a January 13 episode of “The Putback” that he has heard that “teams that have been in touch with the Knicks got the feeling that they’re not trying to gauge a market on Immanuel Quickley.”
Since the beginning of December the third-year guard has served as a key contributor within New York’s rotation, as he has posted impressive per-game averages of 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 44.3% shooting from the field during this span.
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