Knicks Could Look at Trading for a Point Guard

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report wrote an article detailing which trade would be best for every team in the NBA.

His proposal for the New York Knicks?

Oklahoma City Thunder trade:

Chris Paul

New York Knicks trade:

Frank Ntilikina
Wayne Ellington
2020 First Round pick (via Clippers)

Eight years ago, I would’ve bought Paul’s ticket airfare to New York just to marvel at him paired up with Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks gave Anthony Toney Douglas, Jeremy Lin, who reached his peak in New York, Jason Kidd in the final year of his career, Pablo Prigioni in the final years of his career, and Raymond Felton as his point guards. The Knicks failed to provide Anthony a good point guard.

But, it’s 2020 (unfortunately).

I have been negative on the idea of bringing the aging Chris Paul and his contract to New York. Chris Paul is owed about $41.3M in 2020-21 and has a player option for 2021-22 in which he would be owed about $44.2M. He will be 37 years young by the end of his contract.

However, if Oklahoma City is foolish enough to take this trade, I would not be upset.

Paul showed that he is capable of leading a team at age 35. A team that was given a very slim chance of going to the playoffs upon the trading of Russell Westbrook, the Thunder not only made the playoffs, but they were also the five seed. They easily made the playoffs! Without the help of a star player in his prime.

What the Thunder did this season was truly spectacular and Paul was an enormous reason why with his 17.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.7 APG stat line.

Hughes details the relationship between Paul and his former agent and current Knicks president, Leon Rose, along with Paul’s status as the head of the players union and the league’s offices in Manhattan. Paul might have to spend a little more time in those New York City offices, especially this day in age with the uncertainty of things affected by the global pandemic.

Additionally, if the Knicks could find a point guard in the draft they like (and is scouted well), Chris Paul would be the perfect mentor to learn from. Who would be better to learn from? Paul could show the young player certain things about the league and call him out on mistakes and teach him how to learn from those mistakes. Paul could be the starting point guard with the drafted player leading the second team.

All of that at the expense of Ntilikina, a man who can excite on defense but has left me with little patience about the development of his offensive game, Wayne Ellington, the three-point sniper who shot 35% from behind the arc last season, and a very late first-round pick?

Yes, please.

In the same article, Hughes also mentions the trade he thinks would help the Thunder, which also involves the Knicks.

Oklahoma City Thunder trades:

Chris Paul

New York Knicks trade:

Kevin Knox
Frank Ntilikina
Dennis Smith, Jr.
2020 First Round pick (via Clippers)
2021 First Round pick (via Mavericks)

Now this trade, I’m a bit hesitant about.

Yes, the Knicks trade the aforementioned Ntilikina and Dennis Smith, Jr., who simply has not developed into the player we thought he would become after a great career at North Carolina State. Since his trade to the Knicks in 2019, Smith, Jr. has played 55 games for the Knicks and has averaged 9.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.9 APG.

The Knicks also trade Kevin Knox here, who I have been very critical about.

But, I constantly remind myself that Knox just turned 21 this summer. But, much like Ntilikina, my patience with Kevin Knox is wearing thinner and thinner by each game.

But the big red flag to me is trading away those two first-round picks in back-to-back years. Yes, they aren’t the Knicks picks, so the Stepien Rule isn’t in effect. But the Mavericks pick is very key to me because the Mavericks are another Kristaps Porzingis injury away from being back in the lottery.

As we have seen in Atlanta with Trae Young, Luka Doncic can’t do it by himself yet. He’ll need help and star number two has a troubling history of injuries.

I wouldn’t pull the trigger on the second offer.

It’s conference finals time in the NBA which, for the Knicks, means it’s time for the NBA Hot Stove to get warmer and warmer as they look ahead to improve the team from this past season, which was abysmal once again.