New York Knicks

The New York Knicks may not keep Cam Reddish for long.

Ian Begley of SNY reported Wednesday the Knicks have not "immediately shut down the conversation" when it comes to trading Reddish even though they landed him from the Atlanta Hawks in January for a 2023 first-round pick and Kevin Knox.

Begley explained that because of the timing of a potential move shortly after New York acquired him, the team cannot aggregate his salary as part of a larger deal and would only trade him in a swap that matches his contract.

The Reddish and Knicks pairing has not gone according to plan to this point.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported head coach Tom Thibodeau did not want to acquire the Duke product in a trade but the front office did. That is notable since Reddish is yet to play more than 15 minutes in any of the five games he has seen action in for the Knicks.

He played just five minutes in two of those five games.

The 22-year-old still has plenty of potential after he entered the league as the No. 10 overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft. He averaged double-digit scoring totals in each of his first three years for the Hawks and connected on 37.9 percent of his three-pointers last season for an Atlanta squad that reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

He is also not scheduled for restricted free agency until 2023 and is, in theory, someone the Knicks could feature in their rotation for multiple seasons.

Alas, Thibodeau has not found much space for him as New York struggles to find consistency at 24-31. The team was a feel-good story a season ago as a playoff group that drew raucous crowds to Madison Square Garden, but 2021-22 will end without even a spot in the play-in tournament if things don't quickly turn around in the stretch run.

Perhaps the Knicks can trade Reddish for someone who can help them do just that.           

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle remains on the trade block ahead of Thursday's deadline, with Ian Begley of SNY reporting that "several teams had expressed a degree of interest."

The Sacramento Kings were one of the interested teams, but they are no longer considered an option after they acquired Domantas Sabonis in a six-player trade with the Indiana Pacers. 

Randle was an All-Star in 2020-21, but his production has slipped since signing a four-year, $117 million extension in the offseason. Through 53 games, he is averaging 19.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

The 27-year-old was the league's Most Improved Player last season with averages of 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, helping the Knicks earn the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. 

Randle's struggles have coincided with New York producing just a 24-31 record so far in 2021-22, good for 12th in the conference.

It's enough for the Knicks to consider a trade, especially if it can improve salary cap flexibility going forward.

The interest around the league still makes sense considering his past production. Even if he can't replicate the 41.1 three-point shooting from last season, Randle has been an impact scorer and rebounder for the past several years and has proved to be a quality passer from the post the past two seasons.

Randle also showed signs of getting out of his slump the past week, averaging 30.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in the last three games while shooting 50 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from behind the arc.

An opposing team could get an All-Star-level player for a relatively low cost in a trade if it can work out a deal with New York.   

The New York Knicks are expected to hire Gersson Rosas as a consultant in their front office, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Rosas was most recently the Minnesota Timberwolves' president of basketball operations. The Timberwolves fired him last September, with The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania reporting at the time the team's owners had heard "a vocal contingent of staffers express concern about the way Rosas conducted his business."

According to Krawczynski and Charania, the issues with Rosas extended outside of the organization. Agents and executives from other team were reportedly less than thrilled with how he conducted negotiations and treated others.

By working with the Knicks in a more limited capacity, the 43-year-old might be able to rehabilitate his image a bit. Stein noted he's "known to have a close association with Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose," which will help him acclimate to the new role.

For New York, soliciting as many knowledgeable voices as possible might be needed in order to determine the next steps moving forward.

Winning 41 games and finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference last season was supposed to be a springboard for the team. The Knicks gave Julius Randle a four-year, $117.1 million extension to be a part of their long-term foundation.

Now, the franchise finds itself 12th in the East (24-31), with Randle looking little like the forward who played his way onto the All-Star team one year ago.

The New York Post's Marc Berman reported Saturday the 27-year-old's trade value is falling inside NBA circles, but Ian Begley of SNY reported Wednesday that multiple teams had registered some level of interest.

Regardless of what happens with Randle, it looks like it's back to the drawing board for the Knicks as they attempt to build a championship-caliber roster. Perhaps Rosas can provide some insight as to how to make that reality.

The New York Knicks have reportedly asked the Sacramento Kings about the availability of Harrison Barnes, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Multiple sources reportedly told Berman that the Kings were open to dealing Barnes prior to their blockbuster trade Tuesday in which they landed Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis. In exchange, they sent a package including Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to Indiana.

Barnes, 29, is averaging 16.8 points on 45.6 percent shooting (40.6 percent from three-point range), 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He is in his 10th NBA season and fourth with the Kings.

The former North Carolina star is in the third year of a four-season, $85 million contract that expires in 2023.

The 24-30 Knicks are in a complete free fall. They've lost nine of their last 11 games and currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference.

The three teams below the Knicks—the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic—are all in various states of significant rebuilds. Meanwhile, the Knicks entered this season with postseason expectations after finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference last year.

They fell to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round but added Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier in the offseason and were expected to contend for the playoffs yet again.

However, they are on the outside looking into the play-in tournament picture with a roster that has struggled offensively and taken a step back defensively.

Barnes could at least help the team's scoring efforts, especially given his hot shooting from behind the three-point line this year. The onus has been on Julius Randle and RJ Barrett to carry the offensive burdens of late, and Barnes could ease some of that pressure.

At any rate, the Knicks will likely be heard from again as the rumor mill heats up prior to the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline on Thursday.

And given the Kings' franchise-altering trade, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them continue dealing prior to the deadline as well.

As they continue to fall further down the standings, the New York Knicks are reportedly interested in moving some of their veterans before Thursday's trade deadline.

Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Knicks would like to create playing time for some of their young players and "have shown interest in trading for players with expiring contracts in an apparent effort to clear salary-cap space this summer."

Per SNY's Ian Begley, Mitchell Robinson has drawn some interest from teams around the league, including the Detroit Pistons.

Marc Berman of the New York Post noted the Knicks are also interested in moving Kemba Walker.

Robinson is in the final season of his rookie contract and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, while Walker is owed $9.2 million next season.

There has also been discussion about the Knicks' addition of Cam Reddish in a Jan. 13 trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

According to Berman, head coach Tom Thibodeau "didn't want" Reddish, but the front office made the move anyway.

Reddish, 22, has only played 36 minutes in four games for the Knicks since the trade. 

Thibodeau has a reputation as someone who doesn't like to play young players, though former top-three picks Derrick Rose and RJ Barrett both had heavy workloads early in their careers under him.

Thibodeau does, however, rely heavily on the players he trusts, as the Knicks currently have six players averaging at least 25 minutes per game, with Rose close to being a seventh.

The 24-30 Knicks are currently the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 1.5 games for the final spot in the play-in tournament.    

The New York Knicks are "a legitimate trade suitor" for Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein added that the New Orleans Pelicans were the team most often linked with McCollum until the Knicks entered the picture.

SNY's Ian Begley also reported on New York's pursuit of the 30-year-old guard and added that "teams expect the Blazers to listen to offers on McCollum in the wake of their decision to move Norman Powell to the Los Angeles Clippers for future flexibility."

McCollum is averaging 20.5 points and shooting 38.4 from beyond the arc through 36 appearances this season. He missed a stretch of 18 games across December and January because of a collapsed lung.

The 6'3" sharpshooter hasn't missed a beat since returning on Jan. 17, putting up 20.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

The Blazers are sitting 11th in the Western Conference at 21-33, and Damian Lillard is recovering from abdominal surgery. As Begley noted, trading Powell and Robert Covington showed Portland is in selling mode at the deadline.

At this point, it seems like the Lillard/McCollum partnership isn't going to get the Blazers over the top. Shedding the $69.1 million owed to McCollum over the next two seasons might allow the franchise to have some financial flexibility to make necessary additions to the roster.

For the Knicks, they need to do something amid a disappointing season. At 24-29, New York isn't even on pace to qualify for the play-in tournament.

Tom Thibodeau's squad is averaging the ninth-most three-pointers (13.0) and ranks 12th in three-point percentage (35.5). The Knicks aren't a bad shooting outfit, but McCollum would give them another option on the perimeter alongside Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett.

Making the money work might be tricky, though, considering New York only has three players (Fournier, Julius Randle and Derrick Rose) earning more than $10 million.

The New York Post's Marc Berman didn't paint a flattering portrait of Randle's trade value, but including him in a deal for McCollum wouldn't make much sense for the Knicks.

If Randle is off the table, then any trade package would likely include Fournier plus a young player, such as Obi Toppin, and salary filler. Maybe New York would cut bait on Cam Reddish, whom Berman reported Thibodeau didn't want before his trade from the Atlanta Hawks.