7 Best Trade Assets Knicks Have to Land a Center Before Training Camp

The NBA is entering a period of the offseason that typically signifies the doldrums. Instead, quite a bit of business remains this offseason, and the New York Knicks are no exception.

It’s hard to believe that the Knicks are done making moves this summer, primarily because the roster currently has one massive flaw: the center rotation. They could do that in free agency, but the pickings are slim. Most of the remaining free agents are older veterans whose best production is behind them or raw, inexperienced youngsters.

It’s worth wondering, then, if the Knicks are cooking up trades to add another big man. Below, we’ve decided to rank New York’s best trade assets, in the event this is what Rose's plotting.

Note: We’ve excluded the team's 2028 first-round pick, which the Brooklyn Nets can exercise the rights to swap, but is also tied up in confusing conditions (see more on Real GM) that are hard to predict.

7. 2027 second-round pick via Washington Wizards

Teams have willingly traded multiple second-round picks in deals in recent years, so the value of a second isn’t terribly high.

Still, this could be a good trade piece for the Knicks. The second-round pick they got from Washington this past season ended up being No. 31. The Wizards figure to be much better this season, but even if they win somewhere around 35-40 games, that could still be a selection that lands below 40th in the draft.

6. Tyler Kolek

There is real evidence that Tyler Kolek is an NBA rotation guard. The 6-foot-2 reserve averaged 6.9 points and 4.4 assists in 17 minutes per game last December while shooting 47% from the field and 37% from three.

He eventually fell out of Mike Brown’s rotation, and the Knicks adding—then re-signing—Jose Alvarado tells you what they thought of Kolek as Jalen Brunson’s top backup, but nevertheless, Kolek has shown he can play.

Still, from afar, Kolek’s trade value seems pretty low. He is already 25, just an OK shooter on the whole (36% 3PT for his career) and not someone who is going to finish above the rim. What would a team give up for Kolek? A second-round pick or two?

While a rival team might take Kolek in a trade, he’s unlikely to be the centerpiece of a deal, which puts his ranking lower.

5. Pacome Dadiet

The appeal of Pacôme Dadiet is almost entirely in his frame and position. The NBA will never not have a place for 6-foot-9, wings. Dadiet was a first-round pick just two years ago, and though he’s hardly played in his career (47 total games in two seasons), he hasn’t looked bad when he has.

The bar for Dadiet’s position is also a tad lower: if Dadiet can hit threes, defend capably, and finish at the rim, he’ll have a spot in the league. Just 21 years old, there are surely some teams that believe in Dadiet’s ability to be a rotation-worthy wing.

4. 2030 first-round pick swap

This is where it starts to get a little dicey for opposing teams. The 2030 draft is only four years away. If the Knicks sign Karl-Anthony Towns to a four-year extension this year, and if Brunson signs a max extension next summer, both players will still be under contract in 2030.

Yes, both players will be well into their 30s by then, but if the Knicks re-tool wisely around them, it’s possible that New York is still a playoff team in 2029-30. That takes a little shine off of a 2030 pick swap, though some team could still bet against the Knicks and win, should catastrophe strike.

3. Miles McBride

Congrats to Miles McBride… we suppose.

McBride is almost certainly the most valuable trade asset outside of the Knicks’ top five players. SNY’s Ian Begley previously reported that McBride is valued highly by rival teams.

Set to turn 26 in September, McBride is entering his prime. He’s a knockdown shooter from all spots on the three-point arc, with good range, and he’s a solid defender on and off the ball. McBride also has a solid, if underused, midrange game, and he has teased more on-ball creation, though he still doesn’t show it often.

However, there are a few reasons McBride may not be an A+ trade asset. He is entering the last year of an extremely team-friendly, three-year, $13 million deal and is set for a significant pay raise.

Additionally, McBride plays more like a wing in a guard’s body. For a 6-foot-2 player, his handle is very suspect and he’s never looked the part running the offense as a lead guard. Furthermore, despite his good effort, quick feet, and solid strength, McBride’s height limits him as a defender. Knicks fans have frequently seen McBride stay in front of opponents, only to have that player shoot over McBride.

Still, “Deuce,” and his $3.9 million salary, ranks as the Knicks’ best player trade piece, should the Knicks find a target worth moving him for.

2. 2032 first-round pick swap

Unlike 2030, the Knicks may not be very good by the time 2032 rolls around. It could beneficial for another team to have swap rights with the Knicks that year.

Of course, a swap is less of a sure thing and more of a gamble by another team; there is a chance that the Knicks’ draft pick is worse than that team’s, thus nullifying the need to swap.

1. 2033 first-round pick

Trades around the NBA over the last year or two have shown that teams value far-off, future first-round picks. It’s a strategy that could come back to bite the teams receiving them: in some cases, these picks are so far off that it’s impossible to predict what the NBA will look like when they convey.

That same mystery also represents the upside for these picks. In the Knicks’ case, they are unlikely to be very good in 2033. Most likely none of their current top five players will still be on the team, and if they are, they will be at the end of their careers. The Knicks remaining a playoff team in 2033 would likely be a feat of savvy player swaps by the front office that brought in good, young players for older, aging veterans.

The Knicks can dangle their 2033 first-round pick with the selling point of, “Hey, we’re probably not going to be very good by then. This could be a lottery pick!”

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