Getty Jusuf Nurkic of the Portland Trail Blazers and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors go for a loose ball.
Since being bounced by the Miami Heat in the second round of the postseason, rumors have surfaced suggesting that the New York Knicks may have an interest in bolstering their frontcourt depth by striking a trade for All-Star center, Karl-Anthony Towns.
Though a splashy concept to ponder, Blazer’s Edge contributor Adrian Bernecich recently suggested that Leon Rose and company may, instead, wish to look to Portland Trail Blazers veteran Jusuf Nurkic as a possible option to beef up the pivot position.
“Mitchell Robinson doesn’t seem happy in New York. Like Nurkic, Robinson still has three years left on his contract. He may be of interest to a list of other teams, including the Blazers,” Bernecich wrote. “The Knicks appear keen to capitalize on this season’s Playoff berth. They might want to bring in another established center if Robinson forces his way out.”
Mitchell Robinson has been the subject of controversy throughout the 2022-23 campaign, particularly with his public objections to how he’s utilized within the Knicks rotation.
Bernecich believes that his off-court antics could lead New York toward looking to move on from the 25-year-old big, and suggests that replacing him with the more seasoned and experienced Nurkic and acquiring the remaining two years of his four-year, $70 million contract could be a move worth making for Tom Thibodeau’s competitive club.
Through 52 games played this past season, the 28-year-old Bosnia native posted impressive averages of 13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and just shy of a block while shooting 51.9% from the field and 36.1% from deep on 2.3 attempts per game.
Seth Curry Viewed as ‘Ambitious’ Target for Knicks
Should the Knicks simply look to the free agency route to improve their rotation, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes suggests that they should consider adding some snipers to their arsenal, and considers Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry as an “ambitious” target to consider pursuing.
“The 32-year-old guard shot 40.5 percent from deep for the Nets last season and ranks fifth all-time (among players with at least 1,500 career attempts) at a scorching 43.5 percent. Curry has his defensive limitations and isn’t going to do much facilitating, but he’s a five-alarm fire off the ball—exactly the kind of attention-grabber New York’s offense needs to unclog the lane and capitalize on kickouts when Mitchell Robinson inhales offensive boards,” Grant Hughes wrote.
During the club’s playoff run this year, the Knicks converted on a league-worst 29.2% of their attempts from distance and a third-worst 43.3% from the field as a whole.
Because of this, Hughes believes that adding Curry (10.6 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 47.3% from the field and 42.7% from deep during his one-and-a-half-year stint with Brooklyn) could be a beneficial move to make and that offering their full MLE to the veteran guard (holds a projected value of $12.2 million) should be “enough to land perhaps the best pure shooter on the market.”
Knicks Could ‘Lowball’ Immanuel Quickley in Extension Talks
Despite his impressive 2022-23 campaign, during a recent sit down with Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney an Eastern Conference GM suggested that they believe the Knicks will be looking to “lowball” third-year guard Immanuel Quickley during contract negotiations this offseason.
“They will try to lowball [Quickley] in an extension,” the East GM told Deveney. “Nothing against the Knicks in saying that, just that is what the protocol is. Every team does it.”
The executive would go on to float the idea of an offer somewhere in the “four years and $50 million” range, which is a sizeable difference compared to Hoopshype’s Michael A. Scotto’s claim that four years, $80 million could be a likely floor in negotiation talks.
Immanuel Quickley went on to post his best season to date this past year, boasting per-game averages of 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field and 37.0% from deep.