New York Knicks: Grading the team’s 2020 NBA Trade Deadline
Marcus Morris heads west
The New York Knicks are currently on the outside looking in on the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, but they have played a big part in the Western Conference race. The LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers were battling it out for Marcus Morris’ services, and the Clippers eventually won out.
While this trade disappoints some fans, it was a deal the Knicks had to make. They could not pass up on adding assets, the two draft picks, from the Clippers while also keeping their salary cap clean, as Moe Harkless is on an expiring deal.
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What the Knicks asked for from the Lakers would have also been a great haul, as New York reportedly asked for Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green and multiple second-round picks. That would have been a nice haul also, as Kuzma is still on a rookie deal and performed well before this season where he has looked out of place at times.
Adding multiple second-round picks would have been nice as well, but if they were unable to re-route Green, they would be eating into future cap space.
The Knicks made the most of the Morris signing. He provided the team with excellent production while he was there and helped their future with his play, as the team added two more assets for the future.
Morris was their best asset heading into the trade deadline and they made the most of it. Setting up a bidding war between the Staples Center co-tenants was a good way of going about business.
New York now has multiple first-round picks in three of the next four years, which is great for a rebuilding team. While the Clippers and Dallas Mavericks’ picks they received are unlikely to be lottery picks, they own all of their picks going forward.
Whoever takes over the team’s front office will have some future assets at their disposal in addition to some young guys already on the roster in RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox.