With all but eight teams left in the Playoffs, I wanted to turn my attention to those teams who've already eliminated and look towards next season. First up, the NY Knicks...
A team that surprised the league late in the season and ended up with the 4 Seed behind Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau and Most Improved Player Julius Randle.
2020-2021 Roster:
Julius Randle
RJ Barrett
Derrick Rose
Frank Ntilikina
Alec Burks
Elfrid Payton
Nerlens Noel
Obi Toppin
Kevin Knox
Reggie Bullock
Taj Gibson
Luca Vildoza
Immanuel Quickley
Mitchell Robinson
Norvel Pelle
Theo Pinson
Already signed through next season:
Julius Randle
RJ Barrett
Kevin Knox
Obi Toppin
Luca Vildoza
Immanuel Quickley
Mitchell Robinson
Norvel Pelle
With the core group of Randle, Barrett, Quickley and Robinson all returning, as well as young talent in Knox and Toppin, the Knicks will have a great path forward to come back strong. I expect them to prioritize resigning Rose and Noel, but wouldn't be surprised in Gibson is brought back as well.
Going into next season, the Knicks have up to $70 million in cap space available and I expect them to go all in with contracts and trades.
Biggest FA Needs:
Shooting Guard and Small Forward, specifically offensive minded for both. Gary Harris or Spencer Dinwiddie would both be good guard options, whereas someone like Rudy Gay would back sense as a backup SF.
Potential Trade Target: CJ McCollum from the Trailblazers.
The Trailblazers are likely looking to change things up with their 4th 1st Round exit in 5 years and McCollum would be a logical place to start. The Knicks have the cap room to absorb his $30 million dollar contact and would likely get good value on the trade for being willing to take on the contract. McCollum would be a great fit on the Knicks as he is an offensively minded SG with serious defensive flaws who could be lifted up by the Knicks excellent team defense.
I personally could see a trade being based around McCollum for Toppin that could make both teams better.
What do you think? Will the Knicks focus more on Free Agency or make a big splash like trading for McCollum?
What would the Knicks have to give up to get CJ?
Personally, I think the Blazers would want Barrett and the Knicks want to find a way to get value for Toppin. So, I expect one of those two to move in the trade, if it happens. My gut wants to say multiple picks but CJs contact will make it one pick at most.
@taskmaster4450le would love this post. I think that the Knicks should be finding ANYTHING to help with their offense. Watching games I would see most points coming from Drose and Randle with very bad spacing around as teams would allow for shots from Bullock or Barrett. Unless those guys have it going (admittedly they played well down the stretch of the regular season) the Knicks offense is lifeless iso-ball. I think McCollum would be a great pick, but could limit touches on the ball for Randle, who would need to re-adjust to the off-ball lifestyle. I just don't know what the Trail Blazers would accept for their #2 player, FA may end up being more lucrative for the Knicks.
I agree that the cost might be there, but McCollum plays off ball pretty well and pre-injury, he finally started taking the majority of his shots in rhythm and mostly from 3. I think the Blazers will be motivated to move CJ as they cannot move forward with an undersized backcourt pair with limited defense.
I see your point regarding backcourt size, but I am not sure that they see it that way with the offensive power those two are able to provide them. I've always seen Nurkic as the main issue for the Blazers along with the fact that if either CJ or Dame is having a bad night there is no third option to relieve any pressure on them and they end up getting blown out after the doubles come on the stars.
Stop using the Leofinance tag for sports/basketball topics.
This has nothing to do with business, crypto, finance, or investing.
It is tag spamming.
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Got it - Thanks for the note. I'll adjust moving forward.