The Knicks are in a great position to make a deal. The type of trade, whether big or small, buying or selling, or financially motivated or not, remains to be seen. As mentioned in HoopsHype’s trade guide, New York’s stability this season, and its combination of assets and moveable contracts, put them in a position to be buyers ahead of the trade deadline.
They have enough assets with their combination of tradeable first-round picks (up to four of their own and four heavily protected ones from other teams) and young promising prospects like Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin to trade for just about anyone. That was proven last offseason when they were close to acquiring Donovan Mitchell but held a line and ultimately fell short. The Knicks clearly want to acquire an All-Star while not giving up too much so they’ll have enough assets left to get more upgrades later.
Will New York’s pursuit of the next available star limit how aggressive they are ahead of the trade deadline? It’s possible. For example, according to Michael Scotto, the Knicks are unwilling to part with a first-round pick to get off Evan Fournier. He is owed $18.9 million for next season and is no longer in the team’s rotation. This could signal that while the team will be on the lookout for trades that improve the roster for this season, they won’t part with premium assets that would hurt their prospects in a future trade for an All-Star.
Below is a hierarchy of players they’ve been linked to.