Trade Idea Swaps Knicks Prospect For Veteran

The New York Knicks are going full throttle towards competing for a championship, which means some of their younger players may not fit the team's timeline.

Bleacher Report contributor Dan Favale suggested a trade that would send second-year forward Pacome Dadiet to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal that would send Washington Wizards veteran Justin Champagnie to the Knicks.

"Since finding his footing in Washington, Champagnie has routinely checked one of the opposition's two best players while delivering some help-side rim protection," Favale wrote. "He has also caught teams off-guard with his offensive rebounding and drilled threes at a respectable clip (almost 42 percent on spot-up triples last year)."

"This trade doesn't just see the Knicks acquire wing depth. It sees them land someone who could feasibly close games over Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson if Mike Brown has to preserve five-out spacing.

"Potentially best of all, Justin Champagnie is so darn cheap moving forward. He's under team control for the next three seasons at a total of $8 million—around 1.6 percent of the salary cap on average. That is hugely valuable to a Knicks squad speeding toward a second-apron reckoning as early as 2026-27."

Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie defends Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Champagnie gives the Knicks someone more capable of playing in Mike Brown's rotation, adding more competition and options for the team this season.

A trade like this would also get the Knicks closer to keeping all of the veterans on the roster. If point guard Tyler Kolek was also involved in a trade like this, the Knicks would be able to keep Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet and rookie Mohamed Diawara, all of whom are on non-guaranteed contracts.

Dadiet can be a talented player in the league, but he is still in need of development. He won't get much opportunity on the court if he were to stay with the Knicks. Unless he has a major jump in his game, Dadiet is expected to be a benchwarmer for the Knicks for a long time, so trading him while his value is still relatively high may be the right thing to do for New York and the French forward as well.

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