New York Knicks: 3 players to target in potential salary dumps

New York Knicks salary dump trade target No. 3: Al Horford

When the Philadelphia 76ers hired Daryl Morey to be their new President of Basketball Operations, we knew their roster would eventually look a lot different. Morey has a well-earned reputation as a deal maker. He made 77 trades in his 13 seasons with the Houston Rockets. The Sixers were the only team to make more during that span with 78.

One of the first moves that Morey will hope to make to clean up Philly’s messy cap situation is dumping Al Horford‘s contract. I know some Knicks fans might be worried that Morey will fleece a novice executive like Rose, but Morey being in charge could actually benefit the Knicks.

Morey has demonstrated that during his career he lacks interest in making draft picks. The last pick he made was Isaiah Hartenstein in the second round of the 2017 draft. Morey hasn’t made a first-round pick since Sam Dekker in 2015.

The Sixers have five picks in the 2020 draft — one first, four seconds — which gives Morey room to maneuver a trade with someone. Morey isn’t going to draft five rookies, and when he does attempt to make a trade, he’s going to try and package one of those bad contracts with a pick.

Yes, Horford had a lousy season. He averaged a career-low in field goal percentage and his lowest scoring output since his second year in the league. The three years remaining on that $109 million contract isn’t going to be fun to have on the books.

But he’s still Al Horford, and that means something in the NBA. He’ll command respect from the young players, and he’ll fit in seamlessly on a Tom Thibodeau coached team. There’s reason to believe that Horford can succeed with a different team and coach.

His struggles in Philly last season were in part because he was being used in a role that wasn’t right for him. Due to Philly’s lack of shooting, they needed the big man to stretch the floor, but he’s a league-average 3-point shooter at best. Horford’s 3-point attempt rate was at a career-high.

On top of that, the fit with Embiid was a disaster. The idea was that the duo would be a dominant defensive pairing down low, and combined with Ben Simmons on the perimeter, they’d form one of the best defenses in the NBA. It didn’t appear that much attention was being paid to how the offense would succeed with three non-shooters being featured so heavily.

Thibodeau won’t ask Horford to shoot too many threes. He may ask him not to take any at all. If Horford has anything left in the tank, New York could be an excellent spot for him. The Knicks could potentially pick up an asset and get a good year or two out of Horford.