The 2023 NBA trade deadline is approaching, and the New York Knicks must make some moves in order to jump up into a firm playoff spot. The good Knicks trade deadline news is that the team has a lot of picks and a lot of different-sized contracts that make all kinds of Knicks trades possible. With the February 9 deadline just a month away, here are the two best trades the Knicks must make, including a big one for Zach LaVine, and a smaller one for Buddy Hield.
Zach LaVine for Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, Evan Fournier
The 2022-23 New York Knicks season has already been a rollercoaster. A 10-13 start gave way to an eight-game winning streak, followed by a five-game losing streak. Now, three days into the new year, the team is starting another positive run, winning the last two in a row.
The point is, all this has put the Knicks in 8th place in the Eastern Conference, and that’s about right as currently constituted. A few more nice win streaks, the team could maybe finish as high as fifth. A few more bad losing streaks and barely making a play-in game or missing the playoffs entirely is a real possibility.
That is why, ahead of the NBA trade deadline, there needs to be a big Knicks trade to shake things up.
Maybe Trae Young finally puts his foot down and demands a trade in the next few weeks, and the Knicks can jump all over that. If not, though, the most realistic deal is for the Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine.
Chicago is 10-28 and in second-to-last place in the East. It is officially time they start their “Tank-O-Rama” for Victor Wembanyama strategy.
Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, and Evan Fournier for LaVine match the salary, and the Knicks would likely have to throw in two to three first-round picks or pick-swaps for the 27-year-old guard.
That’s a good Knicks trade deadline deal, though, because what they get in return is a bona fide All-Star who is currently averaging 22.7 points, 4.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 38% from 3-point range.
This deal would send Quentin Grimes to the bench, taking over for Quickley as the third guard. Grimes is a better overall player but doesn’t have the microwave-scoring ability Quickley does. That’s OK, though, because LaVine will pick up a lot of that slack.
It also turns the Knicks into a true second-tier contender in the East (behind the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets) with a starting rotation of LaVine, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson, and Mitchell Robinson.
And after that, the team can get one more step closer by making another Knicks trade deadline deal.
Buddy Hield for Obi Toppin, Derrick Rose
One of the Knicks’ biggest struggles this season is shooting (and more importantly making) 3-pointers. The team takes the ninth-highest number of 3s in the league this year (35.1 per game) but has the 25th-ranked 3-point percentage (33.9%).
Again, the Zach LaVine trade will help with a lot of that, but adding another player who is a 3-point specialist would be ideal and help push the Knicks into contention after the NBA trade deadline.
Enter Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield.
Hield has been on the trading block since the offseason, so a Packers-Knicks trade deadline deal seems like it could happen. The 30-year-old veteran is having an excellent season for Indiana, averaging 17.9 points, 2.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and shooting a staggering 42.9% behind the arc on nearly nine attempts per game.
The Knicks would have to give up the still-promising 24-year-old, Obi Toppin, which might upset some New York fans. However, it’s time for everyone in NYC to admit that behind Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Mitchell Robinson, Toppin is never going to get the playing time he needs to develop at Madison Square Garden.
On the Pacers, though, he could get that time, which is why there is reported interest from the Indiana side. The Knicks would have to include Derrick Rose in the deal to make salaries match, too, which means they probably would also throw in a heavily protected future first to get that contract off their books.
Hield would be one of the best sixth men in the league and could finish games with Robinson on the bench if Tom Thibodeau wanted to go small or over Barrett or Randle if the coach wanted better shooting on the floor.
So, with those two Knicks trades at the NBA trade deadline, the team would have a starting five of Zach LaVine, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson, and Mitchell Robinson. And the bench rotation would be Buddy Hield, Miles McBride, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jericho Sims.
That won’t make them a top-three team in the East but could elevate the squad into the top four.
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