New York Knicks: 3 players they must avoid trading for

Trade target to avoid No. 2: Zach LaVine

It may be a bit hard to explain the logistics of how adding a young guard that is averaging 27.4 points per game would hurt your team. This is basically a matter of weighing in the two sides of the matter, vis-à-vis LaVine’s price tag.

Zach LaVine has previously expressed his gratitude towards the city of Chicago, stating that he has no intention of leaving the Chicago Bulls. Nevertheless, LaVine is a top player on a losing team, making it almost impossible for him to decline a spot on a better team.

The New York Knicks may be just a tad better than the Bulls, though Thibodeau’s defensive mindfulness would be better around LaVine, a bad defender by nature. At the end of the day, the addition of LaVine would probably run smoothly. Does that mean they should pull the trigger?

Given the trade package that the Bulls would most likely want, then no, LaVine is just not worth it. The Knicks already have capable young scorers in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who also happen to be above-average defenders.

Trading for LaVine would decimate this young core, leaving it to pieces. A trade like that would render all the work that happened during these awful tanking seasons pointless. Two years after trading away Kristaps Porzingis, should the Knicks reenact their fortunes?