2014 NBA Draft: Hypothetical Draft Night Trades

Chicago Bulls receive Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks in exchange for Carlos Boozer, Kirk Hinrich and a first-round pick (No. 16 overall)

This one would require a lot of give-and-take from Phil Jackson and the Knicks. Carmelo has entertained the idea of letting the offseason work itself out for New York and see what the Knicks can pull off, keeping an open mind to returning. However, say the Knicks don’t see themselves pulling off some great offseason acquisitions and are looking for a new direction for the franchise, a sign-and-trade could be the best option.

Joakim Noah has made it known that he’s trying to recruit Anthony to the Bulls and it may just be in Chicago’s best interest to develop another plan of attack with Derrick Rose‘s knees being a huge question for the rest of his career now. Noah earned Most Valuable Player considerations this year without Rose and Taj Gibson has flourished coming off the bench. However, it’s no secret that the Bulls are looking for a way out from Carlos Boozer and his big contract. Hinrich is just a victim of circumstance with his addition to the trade.

This trade accomplishes a number of things. For Chicago, it gives them a way out from Boozer without using the amnesty clause, allows Gibson to join the starting five (if Thibs decides to go that direction) and provides the Bulls with Anthony, a deadly offensive weapon who has started to figure out that sharing is caring on the basketball court. If Rose stay healthy, then he, Anthony and Noah instantly become a trio that could strike fear in the best teams in the NBA.

For the Knicks, it gives them a backup option to possibly losing Anthony and getting nothing in return. They’d take on the contracts of Boozer and Hinrich but also trade themselves into the first round of the draft, something they desperately need to do anyway. Tim Hardaway Jr. was a great pick for the Knicks last year, but they need to continue a youth movement of sorts to keep the team growing and add talent. Chicago has two first round picks this year: their own and the Charlotte Bobcats’ pick. Giving up one of those picks won’t do anything to hurt the already talented Bulls and still lets them have a pick to keep their youth in tact.

Again, there’s a lot of variables at play with this trade scenario, but it could be one of those surprise, big-impact moves that we love to see on draft night.