Getty LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers reacts during action against the Brooklyn Nets.
The New York Knicks were eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs a couple of weeks back, but they’re still finding themselves making headlines. With the recent ouster of the Los Angeles Lakers, speculation on what the future has in store for cornerstone LeBron James has been all the rage within sports media, especially in the Big Apple.
Though the superstar suggested that he may consider retirement this offseason, there are those who believe he could simply just be looking to move on from LA.
Should the latter be the case, oddsmakers currently have the Knicks listed as one of the favorites to land LeBron James’ services come next season and, according to the New York Post’s sports betting analyst Erich Richter, there seems to be one trade idea, in particular, that could make sense for New York.
“For the Knicks, you would have to see how [a LeBron James] trade would really make sense because it would have to be a trade. The Lakers have LeBron James under contract. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. I guess that would be the only package that makes any sort of sense,” Erich Richter told Dexter Henry of SNY.
Though Richter acknowledges that his hypothetical proposal seems somewhat plausible in concept, he would continue on by noting that he “wouldn’t even do that if I was the Lakers.”
Colin Cowherd Suggests Knicks Trade for Anthony Davis
Though Erich Richter suggested the idea of the Knicks pursuing a swap of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett for LeBron James should they be interested in making such a splash, Fox Sports’ Cowlin Cowherd recently proposed a similar deal involving New York and the Lakers, only instead of a pursuit of the King, they could set their sights on the Brow instead.
“I think you got to take a call on [Anthony Davis], and I think this is the stretch he has tremendous value. I look at a team like the New York Knicks, and they don’t have much to give, but could you get an RJ Barrett [and] Julius Randle [for Davis]… RJ is gonna give me a lot of games. Randle is gonna give me a lot of games. Between the two, I’m gonna get fairly consistent points,” Cowher said of a possible Knicks pursuit of Anthony Davis.
Cowherd would note in his proposal that while “on the surface, it sounds like an absolutely horrible move,” it would give the Knicks “a great player” in Anthony Davis while the Lakers would be getting two highly talented players in Julius Randle and RJ Barrett who have played 70 or more games in each of the last three years, thus giving Los Angeles a level of availability that Davis has not been able to provide them, as he’s missed 104 games over this span.
Joel Embiid Trade Would Make Knicks a Contender
During a May 15 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast, ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon discussed the concept of the Knicks trading for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid this summer, stating that pairing him with point guard Jalen Brunson would instantly make the team a legitimate championship contender.
“I am pretty confident in saying that they feel like putting Joel Embiid on that roster with Jalen Brunson as their second-best player would give them a legitimate chance to win championships, and I believe that to be true despite the fact that what we just said about Joel Embiid and his history of playoff disappointments,” MacMahon said.
Joel Embiid is coming off a phenomenal season where he posted 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 54.8% from the field.
With his efforts, the big man was selected to both the NBA All-Star Game and the All-NBA First Team while winning the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Players award.