Best Potential Trade Targets for the New York Knicks
Maybe the (20-21) New York Knicks shouldn't change a thing. They're five for the last seven, have found their stride and squeezed out a win even after Carmelo Anthony sprained his ankle tripping over a referee.
Brashly saying the Knicks will make the playoffs won't get you laughed out of town these days. Nevertheless, they might need a little help to reach that No. 8 seed.
ESPN's Ian Begley wrote Dec. 19 that "the Knicks don’t plan, at this point, to make a move that would have an impact on their future cap flexibility."
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So unless they've changed their plans drastically, don't expect (Knicks president) Phil Jackson & Co. to bring home anything but small or expiring contracts between now and Feb. 18.
What They Still Need
New York's key failures throughout the season have been points in the paint and fast-break offense. It looks like they might have figured out those woes, though. In the past seven games, they've been leaps and bounds better:
It's a huge improvement, but there's room for more.
An essential component of both factors is the performance of starting point guard Jose Calderon. He's transformed his game to push the pace and is setting up his teammates for alley-oops and plays in the low post. But it's possible New York may look for a point guard who makes more driving buckets himself.
One of the Knicks' greatest strengths all year has been perimeter defense, but it took a while longer for the D to jell on the interior. Lately Robin Lopez and Kristaps Porzingis have become a dynamic duo on the inside, giving the team some killer rim protection.
Yet while RoLo, KP and Anthony are racking up blocks and keeping opponents' shooting efficiency down, opposing teams still score a lot of points in the paint against the Knicks.
Why? The Knicks give opponents too many second chances.
The problem is particularly bad in the frontcourt when the starters take a breather. Lance Thomas is a strong defender but a weak rebounder. Kyle O'Quinn is a good rebounder but a lousy defender (and slow as molasses).
Then there's the issue of injured small forwards. Anthony's sprained ankle may not keep him out for long, but there is still no official timetable for the return of Cleanthony Early, who was shot in the knee Dec. 30. (The team has not commented, but "a friend" told the New York Post's Marc Berman that Early anticipates returning in March.)
So who else in the league should the Knicks front office have its eye on?
Who can support the frontcourt with defensive rebounding and rim protection without slowing the offense to a crawl when Porzingis and Lopez are on the bench?
What backcourt player can score in transition and in the paint? Who's within the Knicks' price range and is on a team that might actually be willing to deal?
Here are my favorites:
Will Barton
New York fans may have never heard of Denver Nuggets swingman Will Barton, but he's becoming a star in Colorado. The local media are ready to crown him NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and he's making a great case. He added to his legend Wednesday night, scoring 21 in the Nuggets' 112-110 win (yes, win) over the Golden State Warriors.
Barton, 6'6", 25, is in his third year in the league and costing the Nuggets $3.3 million this season—a bargain for what he's delivering. Off the bench, Barton is playing nearly 30 minutes, producing 15.9 points and 2.5 assists. He has a pretty stroke, shooting 45.1 from the field and 38.6 from behind the arc.
Why should he be interesting to the Knicks?
Barton is one of the best fast-break scorers in the league (3.5 per game) and one of the strongest backcourt scorers in the paint (6.7 per game). He also averages 5.3 defensive rebounds, which is impressive for his position.
Barton's also an excellent free-throw shooter and solid perimeter defender, strong suits for the Knicks, so he wouldn't be a step back for them.
The only question is would Denver be willing to trade him? It might be a tough sell, but the Nuggets have plenty of problems to fix. They might have beaten Golden State, but they're still only 15-24.
Nerlens Noel
At some point, the Philadelphia 76ers must trade one of the extremely talented young big men they selected in the past three drafts: Nerlens Noel (2013, No. 6), Jahlil Okafor (2015, No. 3) or Joel Embiid (2014, No. 3), whose injuries have prevented him from suiting up even once.
Of the three, Noel, 21, 6'11", has been the most valuable. He's healthy, well-behaved, flexible and "high-performing," if you can say such a thing about a player on a team with only four wins.
Will the Sixers reward Noel by keeping him close or by giving him the first ticket out of Philadelphia? If the new personnel in the Sixers' front office are taking calls, the Knicks should get them on the horn because Noel could be the type of building block to place next to Porzingis up front.
Nerlens Noel? What is Robin Lopez then—chopped liver?
Noel's among the best in the league for defensive rebounds (6.0) and blocks (1.4). RoLo's about the same in blocks, with 1.3, but only nabs 3.3 D-bounds. (Have a gander at the video above to see how frustrating a defender he can be even for a grown man like Detroit Pistons' center Andre Drummond.)
He's agile, he can play both the 4 and 5 spots, and despite his size, he is a good passer. So he should be able to keep up with the ball movement and faster-paced offense Knicks head coach Derek Fisher is urging his squad to adopt.
I'm a big fan of RoLo (and his glorious cat), but he is 27 and reaching the peak of his career, while Noel is only 21 and could have a long, beautiful future with Porzingis. The option of using Noel as a backup this season and a starter going forward has its appeal.
True, the Sixers are on a roll since bringing in guard Ish Smith, winning three of their last nine. Yet Jerry Colangelo, in his new role as chairman of basketball operations, AKA, Savior of the Philadelphia 76ers, will have to at least consider more swaps.
An exchange of Noel for some veteran assistance is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, but the price could be high. Arron Afflalo, a pick and another young asset are probably the starting points.
Yet Noel is only on contract for $3.5 million this season and $4.4 million next year before he enters free agency. The price can only go so high.
Garrett Temple
Washington Wizards guard Garrett Temple is a journeyman. He has played for six NBA teams in as many years as well as for the D-League. When a storm of injuries blew through the Wizards' locker room this season, head coach Randy Wittman gave Temple the opportunity to do some big-time ballin'...and Temple gave D.C. something to cheer about.
Although normally the defensive specialist, hustle-player type, Temple started giving Washington major production on offense. He scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games versus the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies Dec. 21 and 23 and dropped 21 points on the Cleveland Cavaliers Jan. 6—just to prove it wasn't a fluke.
Temple filled up the stat sheet during Wednesday's 106-101 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, logging five steals, five assists and one block to accompany his 11 points.
What makes him exciting for the Knicks is what he can do on the fast break. Like Barton, he's one of the league leaders in fast-break points (2.9) despite averaging less than 24 minutes per game.
He's also a solid rebounder for a guard and a strong defender who takes away the midrange jumpers that are many teams' bread-and-butter. If that's not enough, he's also, apparently, "an incredible human being," per Jake Whitacre of SB Nation.
Temple's on a $1.1 million expiring contract. The Wiz have needed him to play bigger minutes lately to accommodate for injuries to Bradley Beal and Otto Porter.
Once the team's back at full strength, though, Temple might be more expendable. The Wizards might consider trading him while his stock is high and before he becomes a free agent at the end of this season.
Timofey Mozgov
Cleveland Cavaliers' 7'1" center Timofey Mozgov was a stud prior to the NBA finals just one season ago. In the 2015 playoffs, Mozgov was the starting center and averaged a blistering 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.
Now Mosgov's blistering from sitting on the bench for too long. His minutes are dwindling as the season goes on. So far in January, he's averaging only 14.6 minutes per game with a respectable 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks.
According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports:
"Several NBA teams are starting to inquire about his availability via trade, league sources told Yahoo Sports. While the Cavaliers have expressed no interest in moving Mozgov, the 7-foot-1 center’s loss of his starting job, the franchise’s NBA-high payroll and his looming free agency could ultimately persuade Cleveland to make a deal.
"
Unlike the teams mentioned above, the Cavaliers are comfortably atop the conference standings. The Knicks might not have enough to tempt the Cavs into a deal—other than one including Robin Lopez (a price too high to pay) or some guilt left from last year's trade that could be leveraged.
It's worth a try. Mozgov's $4.95 million contract expires at the end of the season. It wouldn't be an exorbitant commitment for the Knicks to make if they're serious about getting into the playoffs. Mozgov is extremely strong and remarkably agile for a 7'1", 275-pound man. He makes opponents think twice about attacking the rim, he crashes the glass and he has playoff experience.
Also, he's willing to do promos while riding on a bear.
Other Options
For improving rim protection and defensive rebounding off the bench, another choice might be Toronto Raptors' center/forward Bismack Biyombo, whose $3 million annual contract expires after the 2016-17 season.
Biyombo is a defensive beast who rips down 8.6 boards per game. The Raptors might not be ready to trade him until they've inked a deal for their starting big man Jonas Valanciunas.
D-bounds, defense and some extra scoring could also come from the Boston Celtics' Jared Sullingerif the C's could be persuaded to part with him. He has a $2.27 million expiring contract, Knicks fans might remember Sullinger from his fourth-quarter scoring spree that made New York's 120-114 win over the Celtics Tuesday a bit stressful.
There's the continuing question of whether the Knicks should invest in another point guard. With Calderon and Jerian Grant playing so strongly right now, New York may be happy with what it has. New York could also scoop up reserves such as the Oklahoma City Thunder's D.J. Augustin or the Chicago Bulls' Aaron Brooks.
But if years of history have taught us anything, it's that the Knicks will only spend lots of cash on point guards who are very, very old or very, very injured. Baron Davis is both, wants one more chance in the NBA and, per Spears, is expected to sign a D-League contract any day now.
So expect to see him back in a Knicks jersey soon.
All stats are from NBA.com/stats. All contract data are from basketball-reference.com. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7 and Instagram at sara_at_3fromthe7.
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