Why There's Hope for Knicks Making a Pacome Dadiet Trade Soon

Following Thursday's game against the Wizards, the Knicks can no longer hide from reality: Pacome Dadiet needs to go. The former first-round pick has been the quintessential "failure to launch" kind of player who's now taking up a roster spot (and cap space) that'd clearly be better used on someone else.

The big issue with a Dadiet trade is the fact that New York would need to find a willing partner, which is by no means easy given how much of a bust the Frenchman has been. However, there are two things working in Leon Rose's favor, assuming he is pursuing ways to offload Dadiet ahead of opening night.

The Knicks have the ammo to make Pacome Dadiet trade happen

First and foremost, Rose can make the bitter Dadiet pill easier to swallow for another franchise thanks to the healthy supply of second-rounders he has in his back pocket.

Rose's unconventional draft strategy certainly rubbed some the wrong way at the end of June, with New York passing up on several intriguing prospects in favor of moving back. This decision cut costs for incoming rookies, but it also resulted in the Knicks profiting in the form of picking up extra future draft capital.

Rose added five second-round picks from future drafts that the Knicks didn't have before: 2029 second-rounders from the Suns and Kings, then a second-rounder in 2030 (from the 76ers), 2032 (from the Mavericks) and 2033 (from the Suns as well). This brings New York's total second-round picks to at least 11 from 2027-2033.

An incredibly important part of unloading any unwanted player on a fellow team is throwing them a bone with draft capital, since the opposing front office is going to want a reward for being a dumping ground.

Just look at what Philadelphia did this offseason; in order to dump big man Johni Broome, who was still on his rookie deal like Dadiet, the Sixers had to attach a future second for the Clippers to take him on (and LA eventually waived him since its main interest was in the pick, not the player).

Dadiet's stock is so low that he very well could require multiple seconds for another team to agree. But that'd be a small price to pay for New York now given its cache of selections, and the benefits of clearing room for another player, plus freeing up cap space since he makes more than the minimum would cost the Knicks, are more than worth the sacrifice of a few second-rounders.

There's going to be a few teams out there who are willing to bring him aboard, even if it's only temporarily, in order to add to their draft pick cupboards. Speaking of...

There's teams who have the means to take Dadiet on as a trade dump

What makes a pure dump of Dadiet tricky for New York is the fact that it would want to offload him with nothing coming back in return. That means the acquiring franchise has to have roster space, as well as financial freedom to make his contract work.

Right now, the Grizzlies are the only team in the league with cap space to spend at $3.85 million, per Spotrac. That makes them a prime candidate, assuming they'd love to pick up some more draft selections for their ongoing rebuild.

But there's a few other franchises with trade exceptions that provide a way to take on Dadiet even without being in the green cap-wise.

There are the Hornets, who have exceptions worth $4.5 million, $8.2 million and over $40 million, per Spotrac. The Pelicans, who might need to blow things up this season and would be in the market for picks, have exceptions worth $4.5 million and $7 million. The Clippers, who are hurting for draft capital post-Kawhi punishment, own an exception just over 3 million that would fit Dadiet's contract by a hair, and the potentially lottery-bound Kings have two exceptions ranging from $4.9 million to $5.4 million.

Any number of these franchises could act as a landing spot for Dadiet, opening their doors to a disappointing player who won't improve their low chances of making the playoffs in exchange for an asset or two draft-wise to aid their future planning. In reality, it's not a bad deal for the acquiring team, who also could benefit if a change of scenery and lesser expectations help unlock Dadiet as an actual NBA contributor.

All of this evidence shows the Knicks may be able to cut ties with Dadiet for good, and even soon, which would unlock serious flexibility for the champs at the end of their roster before the campaign officially begins.

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