Knicks’ Young Duo Draw Trade Interest: Report

Getty Miles McBride #2 of the New York Knicks reacts after making a three-pointer.

The New York Knicks‘ young duo of Miles McBride and Jericho Sims have generated trade buzz, but only as throw-ins. The Knicks quickly rejected those offers, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.

“Neither Sims nor McBride would be headliners in a trade since they are on cheap salaries and are out of the rotation. Other teams have tried to land them as throw-ins before, and the Knicks haven’t been amenable, league sources told The Athletic. They like those two too much just to give them away. I couldn’t see either Sims or McBride moving unless their salaries were necessary to make a major trade work,” Katz reported on Tuesday.

The Knicks just picked up McBride’s $1.8 million salary for next season. But the former second-round pick is not expected to have a meaningful role unless a star trade guts the roster. The Knicks’ guard rotation even got deeper, with free agent signing Donte DiVincenzo joining their already crowded backcourt.

Sims, whose $2.09 million salary next season is expected to be fully guaranteed tomorrow, August 16, has a more decent chance than McBride to carve out playing time as an insurance big who can play both the center and power forward spots. The Knicks are thin up front after they traded away Obi Toppin, their backup power forward for the last three years.

The 24-year-old Sims averaged 3.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 52 games last season. He started in 16 games when Mitchell Robinson went down with an injury. Sims proved to be a steal at 58th in the 2021 NBA Draft as he was serviceable as a starter, averaging 4.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.6 blocks in 24.7 minutes.

Miles McBride’s NBA Transition

The transition from being the best player in his high school and college teams into a benchwarmer in the NBA would have been a confidence killer, but McBride was fortunate to have been surrounded by solid veterans in New York.

“I gotta shout out all the [veterans] honestly — [Derrick] Rose, Evan Fournier, Julius [Randle]; Alec Burkes and Kemba Walker in my first year. Any vets, honestly. They really were helping me a lot,” McBride said in “The Hoopchat with Emily Austin” last month, “because obviously, I wasn’t getting a lot of playing time coming from everywhere I’ve been the star, played the most, scored the most and them just talking to me about it’s a process.”

“Being able to just handle your business on and off the court, understanding what you have to put into a game, just seeing how Julius prepares for a season, prepares for a game, it’s really like opened my eyes and gave me an understanding of what I have to do to get ready. So all of them have got a great input on me,” he added.

The 22-year-old McBride averaged 3.5 points and 1.1 assists in 11.9 minutes off the bench across 64 games last season.

Miles McBride’s Offseason Workout

While he is on the outside looking in, McBride is working doubly hard to be ready whenever he gets his coveted opportunity to play consistently.

“The biggest thing I’ve been working on,  it’s obviously really just my complete game,” McBride said in “The Hoop Chat with Emily Austin.” “I don’t want to be in this league just be a specialist — just be a defender or a shooter, just be a guy that gets in the lane that makes passes — I want to be a complete player.”

His defense has been his calling card, but shooting below 30% clip from the 3-point distance had kept McBride glued on the bench for most of his first two seasons in the league.