Their big summer acquisition Jalen Brunson has been everything the Knicks could have asked for this season. Yet New York sits at 11-13, ninth in the East, with a middle-of-the-pack offense and a bottom-10 defense.
They need an infusion of talent but also to open up space on a crowded roster. Leon Rose and company are working the phones heading up to Dec. 15 (when most players signed this summer become available), reports Fred Katz at The Athletic. The interesting names that pop up: Evan Fournier, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish and Derrick Rose.They fielded calls on Fournier leading into last winter’s trade deadline and then again over the summer. He has two seasons, including this one, remaining on his contract and hasn’t touched the court in three weeks. But it’s not like they’re desperate to send him out of town. The Knicks have not shown any interest in attaching draft picks to Fournier just to move him, league sources said...
They also have communicated that they are willing to attach Quickley or Reddish to Fournier to make a trade work, league sources said.
The Knicks have discussed with other teams various types of Quickley-related deals. In discussions where the 23-year-old is the standalone piece going out, New York has targeted a future first-round pick, league sources said. The team is overflowing with guys who could justify playing time. Moving on from one of the guards could free up space...
A deal where they send out two players and bring back one or something of that ilk is possible, as well, but as of now, they have made it clear to other teams that their goal is to free up space on a crowded roster.
It’d be a surprise to see Rose traded, other than as salary filler in a bigger deal. Somewhat the same as Reddish — the Knicks had to attack a first-round pick to get Reddish in the door, but he’s never been part of Tom Thibodeau’s plans and they couldn’t get one back for him in a trade now.
There is understandable interest in Quickley, the third-year point guard out of Kentucky averaging 10 points a game, but will a team send New York a quality first-round pick to get him? Is there a playoff-bound team looking for depth at the one willing to give up a first-rounder to get it? A team that does trade for Quickley would have to be committed to him and pay him going forward — Quickely is extension-eligible after this season.
The Knicks have been bold the past couple of deadlines looking to bring in what they thought would be quality rotation players. This season they may be more sellers, looking to create roster space in the future.
