NBA Trade Rumors: 5 deals Knicks need to make
By Tom West
The New York Knicks improved this offseason, but they’re still far from contending.
The New York Knicks added some genuine NBA talent this offseason, and along with the drafting of the 7’3″ Latvian prodigy that is Kristaps Porzingis, they have a far brighter future than they did one year ago. But seeing as they’re still a long way from contention and certainly don’t have all the pieces they need, a few moves shouldn’t be out of the question in the run up to the trade deadline. Ideally, to give them a better shot to improve yet again next season, they need to try and make something happen before the February 18 deadline.
A key emphasis in this piece will be looking at backcourt options to help the Knicks’ guard situation, specifically some point guards to pursue that can serve as upgrades over Jose Calderon. And as Ian Begley of ESPN has reported, the team has been interested in adding some backcourt help for a while.
Calderon offers minimal scoring and poor defense, Langston Galloway is limited after his hot shooting earlier this season has cooled down, while rookie Jerian Grant has shown flashes of real potential but he’s not going to adopt a big role yet.
The Knicks have started looking more like a team over the last couple of weeks. They have two wins over the Atlanta Hawks, a win against the Miami Heat, and a surprisingly tight contest against the San Antonio Spurs in a 100-99 loss. This kind of performance has to give fans something to be pleased about as they keep the future in mind. That being said, this team clearly isn’t consistent enough or ready to be a lock for the playoffs, which is why the idea of a trade shouldn’t be ignored.
If they don’t want to rely on free agency this summer and want to make a playoff push, they can try and make something happen before the February 18 trade deadline. With that in mind, let’s start by considering a couple of options to help their point guard situation.
Next: The first point guard target