Best Trade Options for New York Knicks
After a woeful start to the 2014-15 season, the New York Knicks' eyes should be squarely on the future of the franchise.
While their most significant moves will probably be reserved for the offseason, Phil Jackson and company still have a chance to improve the team—whether for now or 2015—before the trade deadline.
On December 15, NBA trade restrictions will be lifted, allowing for rookies and players who signed contracts this past summer to be traded. This will make a big difference to New York's options on the trade market, increasing its chances of unloading salary or acquiring young talent.
Here is a selection of players the Knicks could look to deal, and what they could potentially get in return in a trade scenario.
J.R. Smith
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In terms of who the Knicks want to trade, J.R. Smith looks to be on top of the list, and rightly so.
According to Marc Berman of the NY Post, the Knicks have already discussed a potential trade with the Indiana Pacers involving Smith, and according to Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, he remains the player they most want to trade.
The Knicks already have Tim Hardaway Jr. under contract for next season at shooting guard, and if they want to re-sign Iman Shumpert (likely for a hefty sum), things will be made much easier if they can get rid of Smith and his $6.4 million player option.
Unfortunately for New York, Smith isn't particularly valuable right now, to the point where they may have to sweeten the deal a little bit just for a team to take his contract. Smith is averaging just 10.3 points per game—his lowest numbers since 2006—and that just doesn't cut it for a player who's supposed to be an offensive spark plug.
The best they can hope for is to receive nothing but expiring salary while not giving up anything more than a second-round pick along with Smith.
A deal similar to the one the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers made exchanging Andrei Kirilenko for unguaranteed contracts would be ideal, and the Sixers are still in a position to make such a move.
Other than that, the Knicks' options are limited. There are plenty of teams who could use a player like Smith at his best, even at his current salary, but until he decides to showcase his talent on a consistent basis, few will be interested.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
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For many, Tim Hardaway Jr. should be seen as an untouchable asset. He's young, talented and still on a rookie deal, so moving him only makes sense as part of a blockbuster trade that brings back a superstar.
Rumors about a rift with Carmelo Anthony, however, involving the veteran apparently telling Hardaway "he was going to beat him up when he got into the locker room" (via ESPN) would certainly change the Knicks' outlook.
Regardless of who is right or wrong in the situation, it's unlikely that the Knicks would move their $124 million man on the back of an altercation like this (if indeed it is true). It is, however, possible that they'd look to get rid of Hardaway, who has essentially been the third-string shooting guard playing only 17.9 minutes per game.
If the Knicks were to trade Hardaway, it would make sense to fill a need elsewhere on the court—ideally bringing in a young big. Players who can shoot and not do too much else (which is more or less where Hardaway is at this point in his career) aren't particularly valuable but tall players with even an ounce of talent tend to be available only at a premium, making things fairly difficult.
A swap for someone like Gorgui Dieng (or even just a first-round pick) could be interesting, but ultimately given his low salary, high upside and middling trade value right now, keeping Hardaway is in the Knicks' best interests if they can help it.
Pablo Prigioni
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Pablo Prigioni is the type of player who's wasted on a team like the Knicks. He's a veteran nearing the end of his career and is best used as a role player who can help others gel on a contending team.
Given his low salary, the Knicks aren't going to get too much in return if they trade Prigioni. He doesn't have any upside, and since his contract is only partially guaranteed, there's no benefit for the Knicks to trade him just for the sake of it.
Though it may sound too modest a return, moving Prigioni for one or two second-round picks could be useful. If just one of those picks ends up being a role player in a few years' time, the Knicks would be getting more than they're going to get out of Prigioni long term.
The list of teams who could use a player like Prigioni off the bench and should be willing to spare a couple of second-rounders is fairly long. He would make a very nice stabilizing presence for a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings or Miami Heat, for example.
A move like this shouldn't be particularly high on New York's priorities. While it may help, it's not going to make or break the franchise's future, and because of Prigioni's low salary will have little bearing on the summer of 2015, which is what the Knicks should be focusing on right now.
Jason Smith
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Similarly to Pablo Prigioni, Jason Smith could be an attractive role player for a contending team, and since he doesn't have too much upside, moving him for a pick may make sense for the Knicks.
Ultimately, the Knicks have to ask themselves this regarding every player on the roster: Is he going to be here next year, and if not, is there anything we can get (be it cap space, a pick or another player) that will actually have an impact on 2015-16?
In the case of Smith, the Knicks know they'll be saving $3.3 million when his contract expires at the end of the year. If they can get just a second-round pick on top of that it should be considered a bonus—even if it makes the team worse, all it will do is make New York's own first-rounder more valuable.
Obviously, Smith isn't the only player the Knicks would like to swap for a pick, but in terms of tradability he's near the top of the list. He could easily be a backup for a lot of NBA teams, and his salary is about as reasonable as it gets.
Amar'e Stoudemire
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It will be difficult for the Knicks to actually move Amar'e Stoudemire, but there's no major hypothetical trade scenario that doesn't involve his contract.
The argument for Stoudemire as a tradable asset is that he has an expiring $23.4 million contract, and even after all of his injuries is still one of New York's best players. He's averaging 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per 36 minutes this season, with a 20.6 PER, via Basketball-Reference, and that's something any team would welcome off the bench.
Things start to get difficult, however, in finding a trade partner that can either match his salary in expiring contracts or is willing to give up a player the Knicks would rather have than cap space.
Surely, the Knicks would love to make a preemptive move for an upcoming free agent like Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge, but their respective teams are likely confident that they can either re-sign these players or find a much more enticing package than anything New York could build around Stoudemire.
As for a team who would actually want Stoudemire in the short term instead of their own upcoming free agents, the Oklahoma City Thunder could be an option. Surely, even just for the remainder of the season as they look to climb up the Western Conference rankings, the Thunder would rather have STAT than Kendrick Perkins, and may even give up assets for such a move.
Unfortunately, matching the contracts is near impossible. Perkins is making only $9.1 million, and the Thunder would either have to get a third team involved or give up virtually half of their roster to match the salaries—the latter move being undesirable for the Knicks because it would mean sacrificing 2015 cap space.
Because of his monster salary, it's certainly fun to think up Stoudemire trade scenarios, but in practice moving him would be very difficult, and the Knicks should just end up sitting on his contract until it expires.
Carmelo Anthony
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It's unlikely anything will actually happen (at least not in the foreseeable future), but Marc Berman of the NY Post reported that Carmelo Anthony would consider waiving his no-trade clause if Phil Jackson works out a deal with a team he wants to play for.
Anthony doesn't currently desire to be traded, and according to his agent, Leon Rose, there has been no discussion with the Knicks about a trade.
Without a doubt, moving 'Melo would lead to the most significant reconstruction of the Knicks (not necessarily in a good way), but it's hard to picture it happening.
The plan was to build around 'Melo. New York knew this season would be bad, and that turning out to be the case isn't a particularly good reason to make such a huge change in direction so soon.
There is a possibility that the Knicks simply signed 'Melo in order to trade him as soon as he was eligible, but even that doesn't make too much sense. A sign-and-trade would essentially have the same result, and guaranteeing $124 million to a player you don't actually want is beyond risky.
Even if 'Melo did want a trade (which, again, isn't the case here), he doesn't exactly have much flexibility now that he has another five years to wait to hold the Knicks hostage as a free agent.
Given how huge a story Anthony's free agency was this past summer, a rumor like this is certainly going to gain some traction, but it's so far-fetched at this point that it's not worth going into specifics about potential trades.
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