One trade every NBA team needs to make
By Tom West
New York Knicks
The Knicks know who their star of the future is in Kristaps Porzingis, and Carmelo Anthony is still a potent scorer who’s perpetually adjusting to new teammates. Plus, after adding more reliable pieces last summer, at least they’re improving.
One obvious area of weakness that isn’t going away, though, is their point guard situation. Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant are talented, but they aren’t reliable starters yet. As for Jose Calderon, he’s far from being a scorer, a point who can push the pace or a capable defender. The perfect type of replacement would be Jeff Teague, who the Hawks have recently been gauging interest for. However, for a team like the Knicks with limited trade assets, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for them to out-offer other teams.
So, a risk to try to fix the point guard problem without giving up too much could be a trade to pursue Ty Lawson of the Houston Rockets, in exchange for Calderon (due to his $7.4 million salary) and another role player they can work into the deal.
The Rockets simply aren’t getting on with Lawson and in his average of 22 minutes over hist last 10 games he’s averaged only 6.9 points and 2.6 assists. On top of that, their offensive rating falls by 6.9 points whenever he’s on the floor. They shouldn’t be looking for too much in return, which is where the Knicks can try to capitalize.
A key element of this trade if Lawson’s financial situation. He altered his contract from the Denver Nuggets when he went to Houston and his pay for 2016-17 is non-guaranteed, meaning if things don’t work out, the Knicks can waive him and free up an extra $13.2 million in cap space.
Of course, this trade comes with a question mark due to all the off-court problems Lawson has had. That being said, there’s no denying he’s a highly talented player if his head is in the right place and he can be let go after this season if things don’t work out.
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