Getty Jalen Brunson dribbling against the Washington Wizards.
The New York Knicks have moves to make as the NBA trade deadline approaches and with all of the rumors surrounding the team, it seems likely that a move will be coming in the coming days.
Of the potential additions, Bruce Brown is one that the Knicks have an interest in, per SNY’s Ian Begley. The question now is what the team would be willing to trade for him.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested a Knicks trade that would send Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, and a top-12 protected first-round pick to the Toronto Raptors for Brown.
“They may not see much of a future with the 27-year-old and could see this swap as a way to gain another pick (with protection that eventually lowers to top-eight) and get younger and cheaper on the wings with Grimes, a seamless-on-paper fit with Barnes. Fournier would make the money work, and the Raptors could move on from this offseason, as his $19 million salary for next season is a team option.”
Moving Grimes and Fournier almost seems certain. The salary between the two allows the Knicks to add a player who can make a huge contribution after the deadline.
Tom Thibodeau Loves Bruce Brown
Brown is a defensive-minded player who can come in and help the Knicks defend in the postseason. After winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, he has the playoff experience that the Knicks are looking for.
According to the New York Post’s Andrew Battifarano, Brown said the following about his relationship with Tom Thibodeau:
“Thibs has always been a fan of mine, even coming out the draft when he was with Minnesota,” said Brown, a second-round pick in 2018. “And every time I played against him we had a few communications. But this was the first time to actually get a chance to get me.”
If Thibodeau has proven anything throughout his long coaching career, it’s that he has a certain player that he loves. Those guys are typically defensive-minded wings who don’t mind playing 40-plus minutes on any given night. If you aren’t someone that Thibodeau likes, you aren’t going to find the court. This seems to be the case of what happened with Grimes.
The Knicks Have Reported Interest in Brown
The Knicks and Brown rumors aren’t out of the ordinary.
When he was a free agent this past offseason, the Knicks had reported interest. When the trade happened that sent him to the Toronto Raptors, Knicks reporters instantly suggested that there was interest.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, there’s internal interest in landing the guard.
“I was told there is some internal interest in going after Bruce Brown from the Knicks as far as a trade candidate here…There are some people with the Knicks that would love to bring him on ahead of the trade deadline.”
Bruce Brown on Knicks’ radar; per @IanBegley
“I was told there is some internal interest in going after Bruce Brown from the Knicks as far as a trade candidate here…There are some people with the Knicks that would love to bring him on ahead of the trade deadline.”
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With all of the assets that the Knicks have, adding Brown shouldn’t be much for them. In fact, they could likely add another player if they believed they needed to do so.