The New York Knicks’ roster is essentially locked up at the moment, with them only having room to add someone on a veteran’s minimum. However, with a few contract situations looming, a trade that changes their outlook cannot be ruled out.
Knicks could make a summer splash for Austin Reaves
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix suggested that there could be a way for the Knicks to land Los Angeles Lakers star shooting guard Austin Reaves. However, it would cost a big price.
“I might look at a team like New York, that has Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, three-and-d types of guys,” Mannix said (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Brener). “The Knicks under Mike Brown, looking to become more diverse offensively, maybe they’d be interested in something like that.”
Reaves would be an interesting fit in New York, and it would be a big risk moving on from Bridges (who is extension-eligible this offseason) or Anunoby. However, Reaves would provide the Knicks with a strong secondary ball handler.
Last season with the Lakers, he averaged career-highs in points (20.2), rebounds (4.5), and assists (5.8) per game and shot 46% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range. He was one of the team’s best players even after they added Luka Doncic at the trade deadline.
The cons of adding Reaves make a deal not worth it
Reaves could help enhance the Knicks’ scoring load, but they would take a huge hit defensively if adding him came at the cost of Bridges or Anunoby. New York struggled with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns sharing the floor defensively, and Reaves would surely not help improve that defense.
New York’s main focus should be bench scoring, which is what they have prioritized at the start of free agency. So far, they have added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to deepen their bench, and they could be in the mix for a backup guard.
Ultimately, a deal for Reaves would make their offense explosive, but the defensive limitations that would come with him might make a move not worth the price of one of their top defensive players.
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();