Getty RJ Barrett #9 of the Toronto Raptors speaks with head coach Darko Rajakovic.
After losing RJ Barrett in the OG Anunoby trade, the New York Knicks set their eyes on another former Duke star.
“In other Atlanta news, the Bulls, Rockets and Knicks have expressed interest in AJ Griffin, who has fallen out of the rotation under Quin Snyder this season,” Action Network’s Matt Moore wrote on January 10.
Like Barrett, Griffin starred as a one-and-done freshman for Duke in 2021. He is also the son of a former pro and current Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, who worked under Tom Thibodeau’s staff in Chicago.
But the 6-foot-6 Griffin is a better shooter than Barrett.
After a strong rookie season (8.9 points on 39% 3-point shooting), Griffin was buried underneath the Hawks logjam at shooting guard behind Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The 20-year-old Griffin could be a low-cost trade option for the Knicks in case Murray’s price gets too high.
Thibodeau revealed in December of 2022 that they considered drafting Griffin before they traded the 13th-overall pick on draft night. They used the pick to sweeten the salary dump deal to the Detroit Pistons which opened up the necessary cap room to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency.
Hawks selected Griffin, who played high school basketball in New York, starring at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, as the no. 16 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
“He’s an elite shooter. [He] has really played well for them,” Thibodeau said of Griffin via New York Post on December 7, 2022. “You know, he was on the [Knicks’ draft] board. I think we looked at a number of players that we felt were good. You look at all the possibilities. I thought we were very thorough in our approach, and we decided on the path we went down and felt good about it.”
Knicks Have Competition for Dejounte Murray’s Services
The Knicks face stiff competition in the Murray sweepstakes.
Aside from the Los Angeles Lakers, whose Klutch Sports connection is strong, Murray’s former team, the San Antonio Spurs, have also joined the race.
“We’re still waiting to see exactly how his market shakes out but one team that has a level of exploratory interest, I’m told, is his former team, the San Antonio Spurs,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on the January 9 episode of “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV.
The Knicks have long coveted the 6-foot-5 Murray who has a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Their interest in him dates back to the summer they also signed Jalen Brunson in free agency.
Atlanta, however, put in a godfather offer (three first-round picks and a pick swap in 2026) which the Knicks chose not to beat.
Dejounte Murray’s ‘Questionable Fit’ with Jalen Brunson
The Knicks are revisiting those visions of pairing Murray and Brunson to fortify their defense and add shot creation, which they lost in trading away Immanuel Quickley and Barrett for Anunoby.
However, after the Murray-Young backcourt did not prosper in Atlanta, the same question hounds the Knicks if ever they pull the trigger on a trade.
“There are questions, to be sure, about whether Murray’s fit would be ideal next to another ball-dominant lead like Brunson, as Murray’s pairing with Hawks All-Star Trae Young hasn’t brought the dividends Atlanta once imagined. Yet Murray’s four-year, $114 million extension that begins in 2024-25 does make him an intriguing trade target for any team with backcourt questions,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer wrote on January 5.
Unlike Murray, Griffin is a low-risk trade. The Knicks could bring Murray slowly into their system as part of the Knicks’ second unit.