Knicks Could Trade Rookies After First Season

The New York Knicks first-year players may be one-and-done in the Big Apple.

Dec 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) controls the ball against Toronto Raptors guard Ja'Kobe Walter (14) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

If the New York Knicks are unable to show some serious progress with their team during this playoff run, the team might be busy on the trade market once again.

The Knicks don't have much trade capital left to work with after spending most of it to acquire Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets nine months ago.

However, the Knicks do have a pair of promising rookies in Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet. Both were named potential offseason trade targets by Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale.

"Dadiet and/or Kolek is the answer from here. Their cheapo salaries may be important roster filler depending on the rest of the payroll, but they represent opportunities to sweeten packages that can't include much, if any, first-round equity," Favale writes.

Neither Dadiet nor Kolek have gotten much playing time in New York this season. Both of them have done most of their development in the G League, and each player has a lot of promise for the future.

That being said, the Knicks are a team competing for a championship, and this year has proven that New York might need even more help winning sooner rather than later.

This means that Dadiet and Kolek could find themselves as two of the Knicks' most valuable trade assets, and New York has to at least consider what either of them would fetch in a deal.

If the Knicks think that either of them could yield a player that could help in the long run, like a backup center or wing, New York might have to bite.

The Knicks have long-term plans for Dadiet and Kolek, but there is so much uncertainty surrounding them that a trade shouldn't make the front office members stay awake at night.

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