Knicks Rumors: Star Trade Not Expected to Be Explored Until Summer 'at the Earliest'

Having already struck a notable trade for OG Anunoby during the season, the next big move from the New York Knicks might not come until the summer.

Per The Athletic's Fred Katz, the Knicks' approach leading up to the trade deadline is "to add someone who could help the team today and also has a contract that would be attractive in a hypothetical trade for a star this upcoming summer."

Katz noted the idea of trading for a star player in the offseason is because the Knicks don't expect someone of that caliber to become available until this summer "at the earliest."

Barring some sort of change in the next few weeks, it seems unlikely that any major difference-makers are going to be put on the trade block.

The best players likely available right now include Zach LaVine, Pascal Siakam, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Buddy Hield and Bojan Bogdanović.

There is the looming specter of the Golden State Warriors hovering over everything, but that would likely be another instance of good-not-great players being on the market.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported last week the Warriors' mindset "right now" is that everyone but Stephen Curry is on the table.

At this point in his career, Klay Thompson isn't likely to make a significant difference. Draymond Green can be an impact player, but there's always the possibility he will do something during a game that gets him suspended again.

Joel Embiid was a popular name being bantered about in trade speculation involving the Knicks in the summer of 2024 if he wanted to leave the Philadelphia 76ers, but that seems less likely to happen with Tyrese Maxey developing into an All-Star-caliber player.

The next logical trade candidate with All-Star credentials who will likely be connected to the Knicks is Donovan Mitchell The Knicks were close to acquiring him from the Utah Jazz in September 2022.

Mitchell could be a popular trade target this offseason if he doesn't sign a new deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Next season is the final guaranteed year of his current contract, though he does have a $37.1 million player option for 2026-27.

The Knicks' decision to send Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to the Toronto Raptors in the Anunoby deal did take away two significant trade assets they had that would certainly have appealed to a team dealing a star-level player.

Katz cited Quentin Grimes as the only young player the Knicks "could" include in a trade-deadline deal, potentially along with Evan Fournier's $18.9 million expiring contract to receive a player on a sizable deal.

New York has multiple first-round draft picks in each of the next two years and possesses all of its first-rounders through 2030.

The Knicks have lost two of their last three games and currently own the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 23-17 record, but they are only three games behind the Sixers for the third spot.