5 Teams Who Should Trade for New York Knicks' Pablo Prigioni

The New York Knicks' season is not exactly panning out the way Phil Jackson imagined back in September. Despite a recent three-game winning streak, the team is still just 8-37, the worst record in the NBA. 

With several key Knicks from recent years shipped out during Jackson's regime, Pablo Prigioni, the scantily used backup point guard, seems to be the next one on the move. With the Knicks shifting towards player development this season, Shane Larkin has jumped Prigioni in the rotation, rendering the 37-year-old fairly useless. 

Still, Prigioni is capable of helping a contending team in a small role. Over his three years with the Knicks, he's shot 45 percent from the field and 42 from beyond the arc, averaging four points and three assists over 18 minutes a night. 

As a pass-first point guard with a reliable jumper, he could presumably fit in on any contending roster. His contract is affordable at $1.7 million this season and just $290,000 guaranteed next year, and New York's asking price is a mere second-round pick, according to SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria. 

Trading for Prigioni would come at a low cost and, though it wouldn't put any team over the top, could help patch up holes within an offense.

Milwaukee Bucks

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A surprising playoff contender this season immediately following a horrible 15-win 2013-14 campaign, the Milwaukee Bucks could benefit from Prigioni's skill set as a third point guard off the bench. The team has sufficient cap space to absorb his $1.7 million salary and can offer a second-round pick in any of the next four drafts. 

With Kendall Marshall down for the season after tearing his ACL, acquiring Prigioni would give Brandon Knight and Jerryd Bayless an opportunity for spot minutes of relief. Prigioni could also play off the ball with either incumbent point guard, as he did with Bucks head coach Jason Kidd in 2012-13 with the Knicks. 

Milwaukee is currently 26th in three-point attempts per game, though the Bucks shoot them at a top-10 clip from there. Adding Prigioni into the mix would give the team another reliable shooter from long-range, joining Knight, Khris Middleton, Jared Dudley and O.J. Mayo. 

Prigioni also has a past Knicks relationship with Kenyon Martin, whom the Bucks added on a pair of 10-day contracts. 

The 37-year-old's skills would fit well on this young Bucks team and could make a difference as the team tries to make some noise against other middle-of-the-road East teams. 

Miami Heat

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The Miami Heat are getting painfully outproduced at the point guard position this season, so any help in this regard would likely be welcomed. The team has a disabled player exception it can use to absorb Prigioni's salary via trade, along with a second-rounder to offer up—either in this year's draft or 2018.

The team is just 19th in three-point shooting this season and 29th in assists, classifying it as a potential suitor for Prigioni's services. 

Backups Shabazz Napier and Norris Cole are both shooting under 39 percent on the year, and starter Mario Chalmers hasn't been much better, clocking in at 40 percent. With Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade the offense's focal points, Miami could benefit from a point man who thrives playing off the ball. That can't be said about any of their three current options. 

The Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring recently wrote about Prigioni's strengths, which include pushing the tempo and improving the performance of his stars. Both would be welcomed in Miami, which ranks dead-last in pace and may need a passer able to divide possessions between Wade and Bosh come playoff time. 

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Prigioni may be four years older than the second-oldest Knick, but his average on-court speed of 4.5 miles an hour is the fastest on the club, according to SportVU player-tracking technology. His anticipation, particularly in the backcourt—where he’s made an art of pickpocketing opponents on inbound plays—has led to a team-high 3.4% steal rate this season. And he’s almost annoyingly unselfish, usually preferring to set up a teammate with an open shot rather than take one himself.

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The space created by his screens, and by his passing, help explain how the Knicks, in this train wreck of a season, have managed to score 114 points per 100 plays—a rate that would easily lead the league—when Prigioni and Anthony are on the court together, according NBA.com. Among the 46 duos that have played at least 200 minutes for the Knicks, Prigioni and Anthony’s +7.8 point differential is the highest.

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The Heat's roster is dramatically diminished compared to a year ago, but adding Prigioni could help make the best of what they currently have. 

Detroit Pistons

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With Brandon Jennings out for the rest of this season after rupturing his Achilles tendon, the Detroit Pistons are a clear possibility for a Prigioni deal with the Knicks. They owe no draft picks to other teams between now and 2020, and their trading block contains 27-year-old Gigi Datome, whose salary matches Prigioni's for trade purposes. 

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Detroit had expressed previous interest in the point guard and now plans to revisit the situation with Jennings out of the picture. 

The Pistons, who are suddenly on the verge of a playoff seed after going 12-4 since cutting ties with Josh Smith, now need to rely on D.J. Augustin and rookie Spencer Dinwiddie to handle the point duties. Prigioni likely wouldn't be able to handle starter minutes, but his roughly 20-minute-per-night role would coincide with Augustin's ideal role as well. 

Prigioni can't be relied on to create offense for himself the way Jennings can, but his shooting from deep can help make up for what Detroit is losing. Prigioni would presumably help bring out the best of center Andre Drummond in the pick-and-roll, as he's struggling from the field this year.

Washington Wizards

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As the Washington Wizards prepare for a second consecutive postseason run this season, solidifying their backup point duties would be wise, considering Andre Miller is only contributing 12.6 minutes a night at age 38. The team has a trade exception it can use to take in Prigioni's salary and has second-round picks to offer, starting in 2016.

Though only a year younger than Miller, Prigioni's age hasn't begun to show in his play, taking on significant roles in each of his three NBA years, and his shooting clips have only dipped a bit this season playing with significantly lesser teammates. Giving John Wall a few extra minutes of rest nightly would pay off come playoff time as well—Wall has logged over 200 minutes more than the second-leading Wizard, Marcin Gortat. 

It's been two years since Prigioni had the opportunity to appear in the postseason, but in 2013 he was one of the most reliable Knicks over their 11 games. He shot 43 percent from behind the arc, and New York was a whopping 19.9 points per 100 plays better with him on the floor. 

His experience playing off the ball would be useful in lineups that would contain Wall and Bradley Beal. Adding another guard may not be the most pressing need for Washington at the moment, but being proactive could put them in a better position come playoff time. 

Cleveland Cavaliers

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have shown a willingness to improve their roster midseason, and another trade with the Knicks could help push them closer to the top of the Eastern Conference. 

Cleveland is interested in adding a veteran point guard, according to Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears, which makes a Prigioni deal a real possibility. The Cavaliers could match Prigioni's salary by sending Brendan Haywood to New York, whose 2015-16 salary is unguaranteed, effectively making him an expiring contract. They have a second-rounder to offer in this draft—the lower of Portland and Chicago—but probably no more until 2020. 

Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Harris—Cleveland's backcourt options behind Kyrie Irving—have both posted single-digit player efficiency ratings this season. Prigioni's experience in playing with a ball-dominant star would help him cater to LeBron James' needs, and his rapport with Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith could also help Cleveland's chances.

The Cavs could use help from beyond the arc—they're ranked 15th in long-range shooting—which Prigioni could provide. He's not able to keep up defensively at his age with the quicker guards in the league, but his awareness and sneakiness makes him a positive on that end. Adding a player who thrives off the ball, on a team with three ball-dominant stars, makes this deal something for Cleveland to think about, too. 

For a team looking to finally find its groove offensively, adding a player with Prigioni's intangibles—vision, ball-moving, screen setting—would be worth the minimal cost.