Meaningful rumor? Or much ado about nothing once again?
Even with the NBA Finals being as close as it can be with the series tied at two apiece entering Game 5 on Monday night (ed: the OKC Thunder won and are now one game away of their first NBA title), much of the national media’s coverage of the league has been around the New York Knicks and their offseason.
Who will the Knicks hire to replace Tom Thibodeau? Are they going to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant? And what will become of Mikal Bridges and the extension that he will be eligible for in less than a month?
These questions have dominated the sports news cycle, and has reminded sports fans that the age old adage of “Knicks for clicks” is at an all-time high. But with yesterday’s surprising trade of Desmond Bane, a new name has appeared as the Knicks’ latest target-Jaren Jackson Jr.
According to ClutchPoints’ Kris Pursiainen, the Knicks may have their eyes on Jackson Jr., and see him as an ideal candidate to pair alongside All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
“At least one key member of the Knicks’ front office has long been interested in Jackson Jr. as a trade target. The Knicks’ acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns last offseason didn’t nullify this interest, either. League sources say that a Jackson Jr. and Karl-Anthony Towns frontcourt would be a ‘dream’ pairing for New York in their starting lineup.” — ClutchPoints’ Kris Pursiainen
This makes a lot of sense as Jackson Jr.’s shooting, if capitalized upon, would allow the Knicks to play two big men while still running out a five-out scheme. That would be the kind of spacing the Knicks hoped to surround Brunson with last season.
Adding JJJ would also give New York the kind of rim-protecting big man it lacked in its Mitchell Robinson-less minutes last season. That being said, with Jackson Jr. not being the best rebounder for his size or position, it could lead to some problems. But that still seems like a minor downside considering everything else he could provide the Knicks.
Now, obviously, it takes two to tango. Memphis now finds itself in an interesting position where nobody really knows what they are going to do. On one hand, Sunday’s Bane trade could’ve been made with one thing in mind- rid themselves of Bane’s contract so that they can extend Jackson Jr., and build around him and Ja Morant. That’s what ESPN’s Shams Charania has initially gathered from sources around the league and close to the Grizzlies.
On the other hand, the trade could be a sign that the Grizzlies are open to blowing it all up and starting from scratch, whether that’s now or in a few days, weeks, or months. If they were to do so, and become sellers, Jackson Jr. would draw a lot of interest from a lot of teams. And the Knicks would have quite the competition. With that being the case, the Knicks, who lack of kind of assets that the Grizzlies would likely want in return, would be a long shot to acquire the All-Star big man unless a third team got involved, or unless Jackson Jr. asks to get traded specifically to the Knicks- two things that also seem unlikely.
This could just be another rumor that, like the Antetokounmpo and Durant whispers, has very little meaning. But we know that this front office will turn every stone they can, even if the chances of it paying off are very little. We don’t even know if the Grizzlies are listening to offers, and even if they were, the Knicks would need a miracle to land the highly coveted power forward.
That said, people didn’t really expect the Bridges or Towns trade to occur in the manner that it did last year either, so never say never.