Knicks Rumors: Hottest Trade Reports Surrounding Knicks Before 2022 Deadline
At this point, the New York Knicks' 2020-21 season may simply feel like a fever dream. Julius Randle earned All-Star and All-NBA honors while New York galloped into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. It's hard to believe that wasn't a figment of our collective imagination.
Nonetheless, it's true and Randle's offseason contract—a four-year, $117 million deal—can prove it.
Ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, the Knicks are the 12th in the Eastern Conference, and if there were a Most Regressed Player award, Randle would head the list. These unfortunate circumstances have pushed them into all sorts of trade chatter, with guards like CJ McCollum and De'Aaron Fox named in rumors.
Knicks Joining Impromptu McCollum Sweepstakes
Sitting at No. 12 in the East, New York's season may seem like a wash—but they are 24-30, only six games out of the eighth spot. With a lot of basketball left to play, it seems that the Knicks front office isn't opposed to making a run this year.
According to Marc Stein, multiple teams believe that New York is a "legitimate trade suitor" for the Portland Trail Blazers' CJ McCollum. Teams slated for the lottery don't typically try to bring in 30-year-olds with $100 million contracts, but the Knicks may consider this season salvageable.
Fit-wise, McCollum is perfect. New York has wanted a star, and the team has been in desperate need of reliable shooting and playmaking. Portland seems to be throwing in the towel, so the Knicks could try to offer a package of picks and players centered around the contract of either Randle or Evan Fournier.
Stein also reports that the competition for McCollum comes from the New Orleans Pelicans, who, at 21-32, may have more exciting picks to offer.
Randle for Fox: Still in Play?
He averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game a year ago. Then he signed a three-year, $62.1 million deal. And now he's averaging 18.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three—9.2 percent and 29.3 percent lower rates, respectively, than the season prior.
Nevertheless, a league executive told New York Post's Marc Berman that trading Randle for a big name is "not impossible." Despite sources calling the former MIP's trade value "low" and his play "selfish," it seems that players like the Detroit Pistons' Jerami Grant and Sacramento Kings' De'Aaron Fox might still be available with the right draft compensation.
New York is apparently willing to deal Randle "for a significant package." Berman and ESPN's Brian Windhorst both noted Fox as a trade target, and his situation is no clearer than Randle's.
After drafting Fox at No. 5 in 2017, the Kings took Tyrese Haliburton at No. 12 in 2020 and Davion Mitchell at No. 9 in 2021. That's a crowded, young backcourt that might not have enough minutes to go around. Randle for Fox fits each team's positional need, and it just might still be a possibility with the right sweetener.
Interest in Clearing Room for Reddish Against Thibodeau's Wishes?
In his third season, the 22-year-old Cam Reddish got squeezed out of Atlanta and is now averaging nine minutes per game for the Knicks. A highly touted prospect who has shown flashes of unmitigated buckets, his absence from the rotation has disappointed hopeful fans.
As Berman reported, that lack of action may be explained by a simple issue: Head coach Tom Thibodeau "didn't want him."
While Thibs wasn't all in on the Reddish deal, the front office seems committed to making it work. According to Berman's source the team "has looked to clear out a player to open space for Reddish."
That would likely entail moving one or both of the team's veteran guards: Alec Burks and Fournier. As part of a package, those two have been discussed in deals for McCollum or the Los Angeles Lakers' Russell Westbrook. It's not clear how feasible those moves are, but it's obvious that the Knicks want to shake things up.