Knicks Trades to Consider After 1st Wave of NBA Free Agency
The New York Knicks delivered one of the biggest splashes seen during the 2024 NBA offseason.
That doesn't necessarily mean they're done wheeling and dealing just yet.
Their trade budget took a big hit when they sacrificed five first-round picks to pluck Mikal Bridges away from the Brooklyn Nets (and effectively complete the 'Nova Knicks in the process), but their cupboards aren't empty. They still have enough assets to get a deal done, as the following three trade concepts can illustrate.
Getting a Backup Big in Buzz City
The Knicks, perhaps eyeing a way around the Boston Celtics, prioritized the wing position this offseason. Besides using that pile of picks in the Bridges deal, they also coughed up $212.5 million to keep OG Anunoby.
That could be a smart strategy—Bridges and Anunoby is one heck of a defensive tandem to throw at Celtics' stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown—but it did require some sacrifice. Notably, it left New York short of what it would have cost to keep steady-as-a-rock center Isaiah Hartenstein, who bounced out of the Big Apple to join the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There is now a notable vacancy in the Knicks' center rotation, and that's kind of a big deal given Mitchell Robinson's lengthy injury history. If New York doesn't feel it can fill that void in free agency, then it could hit the trade market and see what it would take to lure Nick Richards away from the Charlotte Hornets.
If an offer built around a protected first-round pick would do it, the Knicks would have to give that serious consideration. Richards is dependable and productive, having averaged a double-double per 36 minutes while shooting better than 62 percent from the field in each of the past two seasons, per Basketball-Reference.
Prying Jalen Duren Away from the Pistons
It's tough to tell how the new Detroit Pistons front office feels about all of the young players it inherited. Outside of rookie-max recipient Cade Cunningham, no incumbent players in the Motor City should feel super safe about their standing with this perpetual bottom-feeder.
Maybe that convinces the Knicks to make a phone call about Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick of the 2022 draft (made by the previous regime, obviously).
Duren plays a similar bouncy, rim-running game as Robinson, meaning New York—when healthy—could effectively have an athletic, above-the-rim center on the floor as often as it wants. While there's something to be said for change-of-pace backups, there's also a certain comfort in being able to play the same style even when reaching into the reserve ranks.
It's hard to say what the Pistons would want for Duren, but the Knicks should probably plan for a package featuring a first-round pick, Jericho Sims and something else—whether that's an additional first or a good second-rounder (Brooklyn's 2025 second, for instance). That might be worth the comfort of knowing there's not only a capable center behind Robinson, but one also able to step into a starting role if (when?) the injury bug strikes Robinson again.
Winning the Walker Kessler Sweepstakes
Walker Kessler was an All-Rookie first-teamer in 2022-23, but he didn't have a great sophomore season. Could that have the Utah Jazz thinking twice about his long-term fit with the team?
That seems extreme, but Kessler's name has surfaced on the rumor mill. Anyone hoping for a discounted deal, though, should note the rumor had the Jazz declining offers featuring two first-round picks, per SNY's Ian Begley.
Two first-round picks feels like a lot to decline, but context is critical. Where were those picks coming from? Would they have protections attached? If the sentiment in Utah was the incoming picks might land in the 20s, that isn't quite as enticing an offer as it might initially sound.
The Knicks shouldn't necessarily get discouraged by that report, then. Kessler could presumably still be had at a relatively reasonable price (say, a solid first-round pick and some kind of additional sweetener). If he could, New York should probably be all over that. It needs some cost-controlled talent to help balance the financial books, plus Kessler's interior impact and paint protection could make him a quick favorite of head coach Tom Thibodeau.