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Pascal Siakam Trade Can Help Knicks Land $22 Million Wing

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Getty Bruce Brown guarding Jerami Grant.

The Pascal Siakam trade to the Indiana Pacers is official, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The Toronto Raptors will receive Bruce Brown, three first-round picks, and Jordan Nwora, per Wojnarowski. The New Orleans Pelicans will also send Kira Lewis to the Raptors, a move that allows them to get below the luxury tax. While the Siakam trade doesn’t change much for the New York Knicks as it stands, there’s a possibility that they can get involved in the future.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Knicks have shown interest in Brown, a highly-regarded wing defender.

“For what it’s worth, Raptors are allowed to flip Brown before trade deadline. They just can’t aggregate him w/ other players. Knicks expressed interest in Brown during free agency. He’s a CAA client, as well. Under contract for $22M this season w/ a $23M team option in 24-25.”

Bruce Brown Had Interest From the Knicks in Free Agency

It was reported early on in the offseason that Brown had interest from the Knicks. Brown eventually signed with Indiana, but the interest from New York was there.

Despite the addition of OG Anunoby, the Knicks could decide to bring a player of Brown’s caliber in. There would certainly be even more redundancy on the roster, but Tom Thibodeau loves players who do what Brown does.

Steve Popper of the Newsday Sports reported that the Knicks showed interest in Brown and as long as the Knicks and Raptors are on friendly terms, they could make a move here.

It remains to be seen if the Knicks want to make a move for another defensive-minded player or trade for a scorer off the bench.

Fred Katz listed nine potential trade candidates for the Knicks on January 16, and Brown was one of them.

“Some players who fit that description include (in no particular order): the Portland Trail Blazers’ Malcolm Brogdon, the Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, the Charlotte Hornets’ Terry Rozier, the Indiana Pacers’ Bruce Brown and T.J. McConnell, the Atlanta Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanović, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Caris LeVert and the Dallas Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr.”

Brown Fits Into the Knicks Long-Term Plan

Fred Katz added that the Knicks’ preferred outcome is to add a star this offseason. If one becomes available at the deadline, they’ll be involved, but they don’t expect that to be the case.
The New York Knicks are hopeful that they can trade for someone on a contract that’s tradeable for when that star becomes available. That’s exactly what Indiana just did with Brown and the Knicks could do the same thing this offseason when the preferred star becomes available.
“After the Anunoby trade, Grimes is the sole young player the Knicks could throw into a deadline deal. Thus, if they traded Grimes, they would want someone on a contract they consider tradeable in return, a player with a salary preferably in the teens or low $20 million that would be attractive to a franchise dealing away a star in June or July, according to league sources.”
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The Pascal Siakam trade could potentially be a positive for the New York Knicks as they've had interest in Bruce Brown.