Why Myles Turner Trade is Perfect Trade For New York Knicks
Despite his undeniable value in the New York Knicks' primary lineup, Mitchell Robinson has been the subject of many offseason rumors and mock trades. The latest addition to that gossip sees him being exchanged for another big man who could improve the Knicks' shooting.
In a trade proposed by Bleacher Report, the Knicks would send Robinson and a 2024 first-round pick to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Myles Turner.
"Turner is coming off a career year and would help open up the floor for a driving point guard like Jalen Brunson," Greg Swartz wrote. "This is important after the Knicks finished dead last among all playoff teams in three-point accuracy (29.2 percent) and next-to-last in made threes per game (9.5)."
This trade would give the Knicks one of the best stretch bigs that the league has to offer. Turner has improved his shooting tremendously since arriving as Indiana's first-round pick in 2015. Last season saw Turner average a career-best 18.7 points a game and shoot a respectable 37.3 percent from three-point range, a far cry from the success rate of 21.4 in his rookie year.
Myles Turner could really make the New York Knicks a title contender as a result of his shooting at the center position
Trevor Ruszkowski, USA TODAY SPORTS
But Turner's calling card is his spectacular defense, which has been undeniably consistent from the get-go (evidenced by a career average of 2.3 blocks a game, leading the Association in the category twice). The Knicks would lose the reliability of Robinson in such a trade but they would arguably get back someone even better in Turner.
Turner's floor spacing could be an absolute game-changer for the Knicks and could very well make them not just a playoff team but even a true contender in the top-heavy Eastern Conference.
New York and Indiana face off three times this season, the first meeting scheduled for Dec. 30 in Indianapolis. In the meantime, the Knicks (1-1) resume their preseason activities on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
