Knicks cutting costs could result in trade of fan favorite

The New York Knicks are looking for ways to cut costs with the franchise possibly getting rid of a fan-favorite in a best-case scenario. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Knicks considered moving Miles McBride in a previous deal to save money.

“The team discussed the possibility of including Miles McBride in the Bridges trade, according to league sources — and not because they are itching to trade away a 23-year-old fireball on a minuscule contract, only $13 million over the next three seasons. It’s math. If they wanted to, the Knicks could find a third team to route McBride to, acquire a future first-round pick in the process and avoid the first-apron hard cap. His salary plus Bogdanović’s would just barely top Bridges’. But they have since shied away from that scenario, a league source said.”

McBride has become a fan favorite with his average of 8.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting and hard-nosed defense coming essentially out of nowhere.

New York has added a ton to their payroll with OG Anunoby's new contract and the trade acquisition of Mikal Bridges. The franchise ended up trading their 24th overall pick to avoid the second-tax apron. While no one likes cost-cutting moves, avoiding the second tax apron is important if you want to remain flexible in making moves with your draft picks or mid-level expectations now and in the future.

As Jeremy Cohen of Knicks Film School and The Strickland notes, the Knicks would be just below the second luxury tax apron if they kept McBride with the squad signing Isaiah Hartenstein to the max (four years, $72 million) that they can offer. One could assume that Hartenstein might take the highest possible offer of "80 million and perhaps 100 million" from teams around the league.

One contender that could offer more than the Knicks is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have registered interest in Hartenstein and could end up backing up the Brinks truck for the veteran. Still, the Knicks could keep him on a lower deal if he decides he wants to stay in New York. All that puts McBride in a tough spot.

New York Knicks may trade fan-favorite to cut costs

While fans will probably be devastated if McBride is traded, New York should likely do whatever they can to avoid the second tax apron. At the end of the day, replacing McBride is not an enormous challenge as he played a smaller role and there are other options for a defense-first, backup guard.

Also, Mikal Bridges changes their lineups, allowing the Knicks to insert Josh Hart at the guard spot more often. Knicks' fans will be sad to see McBride go, if that's what it comes to, but it's for the best.