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There’s not a more iconic duo out there than the New York Knicks being linked to a superstar player.
In recent days, they’ve been linked to Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis, a trade that would’ve seen them giving up a ton. Unsurprisingly, that idea got a lot of pushback from fans, but it won’t stop the team from being linked to just about any star out there, whether they’re available in a trade or not.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania is fueling the flames by saying the Knicks are “hoarding” draft picks in an effort to be ready for the next blockbuster trade. They had these pick for the Donovan Mitchell trade, but they ultimately decided to hang onto them and watch the Jazz trade their star to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With him blossoming into an early MVP candidate, the Knicks won’t want to miss out on the next star, whether that’s Davis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or somebody else entirely.
Knicks Linked to Blockbuster Trade
Charania says the Knicks are “kind of hoarding those first-round picks just waiting for that next megastar to become available” in a trade, as transcribed by Bleacher Report.
He cites executives around the league as the source for this, and it certainly makes a lot of sense. The Knicks are sitting on a whopping eight first-round picks that can either to be used to build the team up through the draft or make a swing for a big name.
You would have thought they would have used those to acquire Mitchell from the Jazz, but that didn’t work out for them. It’s tough to say who will become available yet, and after seeing the Nets dangle Kevin Durant all summer only to hang onto him, both moving and acquiring a star player could be harder than it looks.
“For whatever reason, they did not believe that Donovan Mitchell was a guy they wanted to go fully, fully all-in on. … You choose that you’d rather keep all the picks and all the flexibility,” Charania said via Bleacher Report. “And you have to give [team president] Leon Rose credit for this: They’ve built up those assets necessary to when whoever that megastar is [available], they’ll be right there for him.”
With the Knicks being the epitome of average this season, even with Jalen Brunson on the team, they have to do something if they want to get over the hump and be a solid playoff team.
Who Can They Get?
The Knicks certainly have the assets to pull off a blockbuster deal with the draft picks and young talent on the roster. They even have some contracts that can be moved to match salaries with Evan Fournier and Julius Randle, if they decide to go that route.
With Fournier being relegated to the bench this season, he could be somebody that could be moved at some point this season. Being benched by a team not expected to make the playoffs isn’t exactly a good way to build value, but Fournier still offers a lot as a sharpshooter. If he can make threes off the bench, it’s worth rolling the dice on him, but his days as a starter appear to be behind him.
As the season goes on, more teams may be willing to part with their stars, so the Knicks might have to play with waiting game and see who becomes available. If they can float around .500 in the meantime, perhaps adding a star could get them over the hump.
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