Who Could The Knicks Look To Deal Away At The Trade Deadline?
Despite a surprisingly strong start by Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson’s team still has a long way to go until they’re contenders in the Eastern Conference. That could mean the Knicks will look to be active at the NBA Trade Deadline, but who could the team deal away?
There’s little debate that the New York Knicks have been among the NBA’s most surprising teams to start the season.
Led by the surprisingly steady play of Carmelo Anthony and electrifying performances from rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis, New York is 14-15 heading into Friday night’s matchup against the Orlando Magic, just two games out of eighth place in the suddenly competitive Eastern Conference.
Of course, this is still a team very much in rebuilding mode and as much fun as this season has been thus far, the team president Phil Jackson‘s eyes continue to be on the future.
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With the future of the franchise seemingly secured in Kristaps and Carmelo suddenly becoming the team leader many hoped he would become, Jackson now has to find the right pieces to play alongside his two stars.
To some extent, he’s already succeeded at doing just that. Offseason signings of Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez have both paid off thus far, with both men becoming integral parts of the Knicks starting lineup.
Afflalo has acted as a steady second scoring option behind Carmelo, averaging 14.2 points per game on 49.6 percent shooting from the field, the second highest mark of his career if it holds out.
Lopez, meanwhile, has been the steady defensive post-presence New York hoped he would be, as the Knicks are blocking 8.8 percent of opponents’ shots with RoLo on the floor compared to 8.2 percent with him off.
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Fellow free agent signees Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams and Kevin Seraphin have all worked out to varying degrees of success. O’Quinn and Seraphin both give New York nice size off the bench, while Williams gives the second unit some pop offensively.
But as successful as Phil Jackson’s acquisitions have been, the Knicks are still a couple games out of the playoff picture, leading many to question what the next move will be for New York.
Of course, free agency is always an option and with the market size of New York combined with the sudden star power of Anthony and Porzingis, the Knicks are a very attractive destination for players this summer. But this is of course also the most demanding market in sport and after over a decade of borderline irrelevance, fans want to win now.
By extension, that means that fans will want the Knicks to not only be active at the trade deadline, but also make major moves.
While Afflalo and starting point guard Jose Calderon have been solid, neither are considered to be penetrating guards (Calderon shoots just 10 percent of his shots at the rim, Afflalo isn’t much better at just 21 percent), making it difficult for the Knicks to get inside and open up the offense.
Head coach Derek Fisher has said at numerous times that he wants his team to play more up-tempo, something the Knicks have failed to do consistently to this point, ranking 24th in the league in pace.
Because of the need for a guard capable of creating offense and getting to the rim, names like the Detroit Pistons’ Brandon Jennings and the Houston Rockets’ Ty Lawson have popped up as potential targets for Jackson with the trade deadline approaching in February.
Those aren’t the only two names though, as New York could be looking league-wide for someone capable of filling their need.
But are there really any players the Knicks would possibly like to trade and if so, would they be hot commodities on the trade market?
Bench
With a steady bench unit consisting of O’Quinn, Williams, Lance Thomas, Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway that has outscored opponents by 3.6 points, the Knicks may not want to move any of their role players. When you consider the fact that the oldest of those five is Thomas at just 27 years old, this is a unit that can be a steady force for New York heading into the Porzingis era.
That would leave Seraphin, Sasha Vujacic, Lou Amundson, and the pride of Pine Bush, N.Y., himself, Cleanthony Early.
Seraphin is a genuinely good role player to have and his name could come up if the Knicks try to make a deal. He’s a legitimate post scorer off the bench, a rare commodity, scoring 4.2 points per game in just 11.5 minutes a night. With a contract worth just $2.8 million and expiring at the end of the season, Seraphin could act as a key component for any trades.
Vujecic is essentially untouchable. Brought on for essentially the sole purpose of helping the team learn Jackson’s Triangle offense, Sasha has shot a scalding hot 28.7 percent from the field. While his veteran know-how and scrappiness my be attractive to some, Vujecic is essentially on the Knicks to act as another coach and that means he’s not likely to be traded come Feb. 18.
Neither Amundson nor Early have gotten much playing time this season, with Early even bouncing back-and-forth between the D-League’s Westchester Knicks and the main New York squad. Contrary to the beliefs of many in upstate New York, Early doesn’t appear to be the steal of the 2014 NBA draft.
But who knows, maybe a general manager out there will be interested enough in the former Wichita State standout to take a chance on him.
Starters
So with the Knicks likely trying to hold onto their second unit unless a massive trade opportunity pops up, that leaves us with the starters.
Starting point guard Calderon is generally seen as expendable despite putting together a solid season thus far (7.1 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting), but a contract that owes him more than $14 million over the next two seasons would make him difficult to deal. Simply put, Calderon’s solid play isn’t worth much in exchange on it’s own and the massive price tag that comes with him makes the Spaniard borderline untradable.
As previously mentioned, Afflalo has been a massive piece of the Knicks early season success and has stated in various interviews that he has no desire to leave New York. Considering how well he meshes with Anthony and his instant scoring ability, it’s unlikely that Afflalo gets dealt come deadline day.
When it comes to Anthony and Porzingis, it’s pretty clear both men are untouchable. While there may have been some questions about Melo’s future in New York at the start of the season, those have since been cleared up and he seems destined to retire a Knick, especially with a no-trade clause. Kristaps, meanwhile, is the undisputed future of the franchise and is about as untouchable a player in the league.
Finally comes Lopez, arguably the Knicks’ biggest trade asset as well as potentially their goofiest player.
The 7-foot Lopez has been solid both defensively and offensively for the Knicks thus far, dropping 7.2 points and snagging 5.4 rebounds while playing just 23.2 minutes per game, his lowest since 2011-12.
The size and depth the Knicks bench has would seemingly make RoLo expendable though, as O’Quinn and Seraphin have arguably been as consistent as he has. New York’s need for a starting-caliber guard that can penetrate and get inside could make Robin’s time as a Knick a short one, as the big fella is the best option Jackson has in a potential trade.
Lopez’s value only increases when looking at potential landing spots, particularly with the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. The Rockets have had notable issues defensively this season and with Lawson reportedly on the open market, could use a high-effort, consistent defensive presence like Lopez.
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Detroit, meanwhile, doesn’t have a lot of depth down low behind Andre Drummond and if Jennings is back to 100 percent after returning from a torn Achilles, could be interested in the big man.
Final Thoughts
With only Seraphin and Lopez as easily tradable assets, it’s very likely the Knicks would have to part with someone they may not want to let go of in order to make a move at this years trade deadline.
I’d be shocked if any starters outside of RoLo got dealt, but someone like Grant or Williams could be added to potential trades, as the two have plenty of potential to be unlocked and every GM believes that they are the ones with the key to do so.
While I’d love for the Knicks to make a move and continue their rebuilding process, it’s also imperative that they don’t hurt their future prospects in the process. With the Zen Master at the helm though, I find it hard to believe that New York would give up a bunch of their young and talented players for little in return.
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But then again, this is the Knicks, so it wouldn’t shock me if we saw Galloway, Grant, Porzingis, and Lopez get dealt all for someone like Dwight Howard. Gotta love the Knicks.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and ShotAnalytics.com