Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks shoots the ball during the fourth quarter of the game against the Orlando Magic.
Though the New York Knicks may have been one of the most active ball clubs during this past offseason period, the franchise still finds itself void of a legitimate star player.
While they do sport a talented core led by a former All-Star in Julius Randle and an All-Star hopeful in RJ Barrett, of the four total organizations that reside in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, the Knickerbockers are the only team to not have had a player be selected to the big game last March.
In the modern era of the NBA, when it comes to being viewed as one of the top teams, top-billed talents seem to be a much-needed commodity. Unfortunately, despite their collection of solid and promising players, New York currently is found lacking in this department.
That said, Reddit’s official NBA Twitter account recently composed a wild multi-team blockbuster idea involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors that, if executed, would see the Knicks pursuing a potential answer to their star-less woes.
The trade package concocted reads as follows:
New York Knicks receive:
- Pascal Siakam
Los Angeles Lakers receive:
- Fred VanVleet
- Otto Porter Jr.
- Evan Fournier
Toronto Raptors receive:
- Russell Westbrook
- Cam Reddish
- Obi Toppin
- Quentin Grimes
- 2024 first-round pick (via Knicks)
- 2026 first-round pick (via Knicks)
- 2027 first-round pick (via Lakers)
- 2029 first-round pick (via Lakers)
Since earning the moniker of All-Star and Second Team All-NBA back in the 2019-20 season, Pascal Siakam has been an all-around difference-maker for the Toronto Raptors, boasting stellar stat sheet-stuffing averages of 22.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and just shy of a block per game on 46.9% shooting from the floor.
During the early stages of this season, the forward finds himself once again producing at an absurdly high level, as he currently is found sporting tremendous averages of 25.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.0 steal, and half a block per contest on 48.7% shooting from the floor and 35.7% shooting from deep.
With his specific style of play coupled with his lengthy 6-foot-8 frame and 7-foot-3 wingspan, Siakam is a rare type of talent who can slot in at any position from the three down to the five, which, on a team like the New York Knicks who’s head coach wishes to play “position-less basketball”, would be an absolute luxury to have in tow.
However, while the thought of the 28-year-old heading to New York may be viewed as an intriguing idea to some, at least when it comes to this specific proposal, many fans seem to believe that it would simply cost too much for the Knicks to consider making it a reality.
Fans Not For Reddit’s Proposal
When it comes to trade ideas, no fan wishes to see their favorite ball club shell out any more assets than they believe they need to and, to some, this proposal would see the Knicks doing exactly that.
@NBA_Reddit Trash. The knicks are giving up the most in this deal
All summer long, perhaps the biggest storyline regarding the New York Knicks and, frankly, the NBA as a whole was the situation of disgruntled guard Donovan Mitchell.
For months, the league’s rumor mill was heavily invested in the, then, Jazz guard and where he could wind up being traded to after Utah executive Danny Ainge started shopping him back in early July.
Throughout the summer, it was widely believed that the Knicks were going to be the ones to wind up landing Mitchell, as they were consistently viewed as the overwhelming betting favorites to win out on the trade sweepstakes.
Ultimately, however, reports started to surface suggesting that Leon Rose and company were unwilling to adhere to Utah’s lofty demands and, as a result, Ainge ended up going in a different direction with a trade, as he sent the 26-year-old to the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1.
Now, a big reason why talks fell through between the Jazz and Knicks is rumored to be because of their reluctance to part ways with several assets, most notably second-year guard Quentin Grimes.
With this in mind, one fan headed to the comments section to question why New York would now be willing to part ways with Grimes for the one-time All-Star in Siakam but not a few months back for the perennial All-Star and younger Donovan Mitchell.
@NBA_Reddit So they didn’t want to give up grimes for Mitchell but will for Siakam ?!?
One person was so opposed to the proposal as a whole, they stated that they are simply just trying to forget about having seen the post in the first place.
@NBA_Reddit gonna pretend I didn’t see this
In truth, Pascal Siakam is a tremendous talent in this league who can provide a plethora of positive contributions to virtually any ball club, including the Knicks.
Having said that, there’s little to no reason to believe that New York would be remotely interested in coughing up a package headlined by several picks and two recently acquired and highly regarded first-round selections for a player who technically plays the same position as one of their already established focal points in Julius Randle.
Should they be willing to part ways with these types of assets at some point down the road, hopefully, they’d do so in a transaction that would see a bigger name and a more complimentary talent than Siakam coming back in exchange.
Knicks Want Barrett to Shoot More
Despite the team’s solid start to the 2022-23 season, New York’s main centerpiece in RJ Barrett has found himself severely struggling, particularly with his scoring efficiency.
Though his averages of 17.7 points per game certainly seem to be sound on the surface, he’s putting up these numbers whilst shooting at a lackluster 40.0% from the floor and 21.9% from distance.
Now, while to some the most logical way to address his shooting woes is to pull back on his volume regarding attempts (currently ranks first on the Knicks in shots per game with 16.7) and focus on finding cleaner looks, head coach Tom Thibodeau seems to believe that the best way for him to pull out of his slump is, in fact, to shoot more.
During the team’s post-game media session after their 119-108 loss to Milwaukee on October 28, a reporter touched on RJ Barrett’s scoring struggles.
In response, the veteran coach stated that he believes the wing simply needs to continue to play his game if he wishes to get out of his current slump, and even went as far as to suggest that he could look to attempt even more shots moving forward.
“[If] you’re open, shoot,” Thibodeau said to the reporter. “The more RJ shoots threes, when he comes back at night and grooves his shot the better he shoots. And, so, the more he does it the better he’s going to be. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
Throughout his four-year career with the Knicks, there has proven to be a direct correlation between how Barrett shoots from the floor and the outcome of a contest.
During games where the Knicks have won, the wing has found himself converting on 44.8% of his attempts from the floor, 40.2% from distance, and 74% from the free-throw line.
However, in losing efforts, we see Barrett’s rates plummet significantly, as he converts at just a 39.0% clip from the floor, 30.6% from deep, and 66.9% from the line.
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