Knicks Acquiring Raptors Guard Could be ‘Top Offseason Priority’

Getty Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors talks with Gary Trent Jr. during second half of their NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After an impressive season that saw their first playoff series win since 2013, the New York Knicks will likely look toward the upcoming summer months as a period where they can attempt to bolster their talent pool and better their odds of achieving even great levels of success in 2023-24 and beyond.

In the eyes of Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes, the “top offseason priority” for Leon Rose and company should be to add a “knockdown shooter” to their arsenal. Though an oft-mentioned option for the Knicks has been Brooklyn Nets sniper, Seth Curry, Hughes believes a guy like Gary Trent Jr. of the Toronto Raptors could be more of a well-rounded addition.

“Gary Trent Jr. wouldn’t offer the same historic level of accuracy as Curry, but he’d make up for that in volume. GTJ, who can hit free agency by declining a player option with the Toronto Raptors, has gotten up at least 10.5 three-point attempts per 100 possessions in each of the last three years,” Hughes wrote.

Since arriving in Toronto back in 2021, Gary Trent Jr. has proven himself to be a highly impactful contributor. Through 153 games and 128 starts, the shooting guard has posted impressive averages of 17.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 37.4% from long range.

Should Trent turn down his player option for the 2023-24 season (holds a worth of $18.5 million), he’ll undoubtedly be a sought-after commodity on the open market, and Hughes believes the Knicks should consider embarking on a pursuit to acquire his services.

Seth Curry ‘Exactly’ What Knicks Offense Needs

Though Grant Hughes suggests the Knicks should consider monitoring the availability of Gary Trent Jr., the idea of New York’s front office chasing Seth Curry in free agency has been broached by the B/R writer on more than one occasion.

Considering Tom Thibodeau’s club converted on a playoff-worst 29.2% of their long-range attempts and a third-worst 43.3% of their attempts from the field as a whole, it should come as no surprise that fans and analysts alike are seen suggesting that the organization should prioritize adding efficient shooters to their rotation.

In Hughes’ mind, poaching the Nets guard this summer is an ambitious objective that could prove to have a truly positive impact on the play and productivity of this Knicks team.

“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.

Hughes would note in his piece that the Knicks could offer up their full MLE to Curry (holds a projected value of $12.2 million) which, to him, should be “enough to land perhaps the best pure shooter on the market.”

In 80 regular season games played during his one-and-a-half-year tenure with the Nets, the 32-year-old has posted solid averages of 10.6 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 47.3% from the field and 42.7% from deep.

Bruce Brown ‘Ideal’ Target for Knicks, Says Exec

This offseason, there is slated to be a plethora of intriguing players available on the open market that should be worthy of New York’s consideration.

However, in a recent sit-down with Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney, an anonymous Eastern Conference executive suggested that Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown is a name that Leon Rose and company should have high up on their summer targets wish list.

“Denver probably is not letting Bruce Brown go,” the general manager told Deveney. “But that would be the ideal piece for the Knicks. [Tom Thibodeau] would love him.”

Inking a two-year, $13.2 million deal with the Nuggets last offseason, Bruce Brown has gone on to put forth a career campaign and has served as a major contributor within the rotation for the current Western Conference champions.

In 80 games played during the 2022-23 campaign, the guard would go on to post averages of 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 48.3% from the field and 35.8% from deep.