2023 NBA Trade Deadline: Potential Targets For New York Knicks
You just never know what is going to happen when the trade deadline rolls around in the NBA, but one thing we can always count on is fans of the New York Knicks to go crazy on social media and put on their GM hats to try and figure out every single trade scenario possible for their team!
This year’s trade deadline figures to be quite eventful and the Knicks will very likely play a part in the action.
Currently 27-25, this season has definitely been a success for New York thus far, as their offseason acquisition of Jalen Brunson has fit in perfectly next to Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
There is no question that this team has what it takes to be competitive night-in and night-out, but the problems for this team lie in their consistency on the offensive-end of the floor.
They are currently sixth in offensive rating, but the Knicks rank 15th in the NBA in points per game (114.4) and they rank just 26th in the league in bench scoring.
Immanuel Quickley seems to be the only consistent scoring threat for the Knicks coming off-the-bench, which is why many around the league are anticipating New York looking to upgrade their secondary talent.
Making Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Cam Reddish and even Quickley available in trade talks this season, the Knicks will have quite a few options presented to them ahead of this season’s deadline.
Perhaps the biggest reason we should expect a move from the Knicks though is because they have a lot of added draft capital to play around with in trade talks. Owning eight first-round draft picks through 2026 and having a variety of second-round picks as well, the Knicks could wind up being the team that “buys” at a high price at this trade deadline in order to get the player they want.
I would expect the Knicks to make some sort of move to try and upgrade their roster in the coming week and one of these players could very likely be on their radar.
O.G. Anunoby & Gary Trent Jr. - Toronto Raptors
What will the Toronto Raptors do at this year’s trade deadline?
This is one of the questions that many front-office personnel around the league are asking themselves on a daily basis and just about a week from this season’s trade deadline, nobody seems to have any answers to this question.
I mean, the Raptors do not really have an answer themselves!
Masai Ujiri is one of the best executives in the league and he has constructed one of the best starting groups in the entire league in Toronto with Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr., but financials are going to become a problem for this team moving forward and their secondary talent continues to be their downfall.
Outside of these five guys, the Raptors do not have much talent and with both Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. having player options for next season, this franchise is in danger of losing a big chunk of their overall production.
Sources that have spoken with Fastbreak on FanNation have stated that the Raptors are interested in hearing offers for Trent ahead of this year’s deadline and there is a belief around the league that the team could be willing to move on from VanVleet for the right price as well.
O.G. Anunoby is another name to keep an eye on, as the 25-year-old forward is heavily regarded as the best two-way wing “available” right now and Toronto could bring back a haul for him. According to the Toronto Star, one team supposedly offered three first-round picks for Anunoby recently and is it hard to believe that this team could have been the New York Knicks?
Adding talent on the wing is certainly something the Knicks need to do moving forward and Anunoby is the perfect mold of player this team needs given his abilities on both ends of the floor.
As for Gary Trent Jr., he is another two-way player that is more notably known for his three-point shooting numbers. He may only be shooting 36.7 percent from long-range this season, but Trent is one of the better catch-and-shooter perimeter players in the league and would instantly give the Knicks an upgrade offensively.
A trade for either Anunoby or Trent Jr. would likely mean the Knicks having to give up some first-round compensation and a player like Immanuel Quickley, but both of the Raptors’ players are expected to be shopped over the course of the next week leading up to the deadline
Saddiq Bey - Detroit Pistons
Now this is a very interesting scenario because it is a little shocking to see the Detroit Pistons make Saddiq Bey available ahead of this deadline, especially since they are a rebuilding team and Bey was a recent first-round pick for them.
In his third season, Bey’s overall production has declined slightly in Detroit, but this is pretty much due to the arrival of Bojan Bogdanovic on the wing.
The 23-year-old is still growing and he has been an effective perimeter scorer for the Pistons when he has been healthy and on the floor.
The Pistons are likely just feeling the market out and seeing what kind of price they could get for some of their guys, but SNY’s Ian Begley reported recently that the Knicks are among a list of teams who have shown interest in Bey.
This would obviously be a good fit for the Knicks given that Saddiq Bey is young and still has one more year left on his rookie deal, but I just find it hard to believe that the Pistons will be wanting to seriously give him up unless they get a ton of value in return.
Detroit has something good going right now and while their record may not reflect this, they have been without Cade Cunningham basically the entire season.
Moving forward, this young Pistons organization has a ton of potential and I would envision Saddiq Bey being a part of this young core moving forward.
However, if the Knicks offer two first-round picks for him, that could very well get a deal done.
Bones Hyland - Denver Nuggets
In his second season with the Denver Nuggets, Bones Hyland appears to be frustrated with his role.
The Nuggets are one of the best teams in the league this year and they currently sit at the top of the Western Conference standings, so they will not be wanting to shake things up on their roster too much, but they have been receptive to offers coming in for Hyland.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported recently that Hyland is one of the players “most likely” to get traded before the upcoming deadline and Mike Singer of The Denver Post reported that the team believes that they can get a first-round pick for the young guard ahead of next week’s deadline.
Since entering the league, Hyland has averaged 10.9 points and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 37.1 percent from three-point range. Being an electric scorer off-the-bench, the Knicks could very well pursue Bones Hyland if they are to potentially move Immanuel Quickley in another deal.
Hyland has been compared to Quickley in the past as being a score-first type of guard off-the-bench and still having two more years left on his contract, Hyland is absolutely worth a first-round pick.
Grayson Allen - Milwaukee Bucks
In my mind, there are two scenarios in which the Knicks could end up with Grayson Allen.
The first is if they are a third team involved in a deal that sends Jae Crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Phoenix Suns have not been wanting to bring back Allen in a trade involving Crowder and with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reporting that New York has interest in the former Duke Blue Devil, it would make sense for them to want to help facilitate this kind of trade.
The Bucks have been linked to Cam Reddish recently and as Scotto stated recently on The Fast Break Podcast, George Hill is another player Milwaukee has that could be sent to New York in a potential deal, especially since Hill has a relationship with general manager Scott Perry dating back to their time spent together with the Sacramento Kings.
The second scenario is just a straight-up deal between the Knicks and Bucks involving both Grayson Allen and Cam Reddish. This would only likely happen though in the event that the Bucks cannot acquire Jae Crowder, as he has been the veteran player that the Bucks have been looking to trade for by leveraging Allen for quite some time.
Improving as a three-point shooting threat this season and always being known as a physical defender, Grayson Allen could fit in very well with the Knicks under head coach Tom Thibodeau.
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