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The New York Knicks are a team that could soon be a major player in trades, according to recent NBA rumors. With the 2020-21 season slowly progressing and teams discovering their strengths, several Knicks players may be in play to become part of other teams' futures.
However, according to NBA insider Ian Begley of SNY.tv, the Knicks will not be making any roster moves until late January, once they hit a certain number of games.
"Entering the season, some Knick decision-makers wanted to assess the roster at the 15-20 game mark before considering any roster changes," Begley wrote.
"That doesn’t mean that the roster is going to change at the 15-20 game mark. It just means that the Knicks, entering the season, wanted to take a few weeks to assess the roster before considering any moves.
"New York currently has 15 players and two two-way players on the roster. So the club would need to release a player to add a free agent.
"The Knicks are without several guards due to injury (Immanuel Quickley, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., Alec Burks) at the moment, but none of the injuries are believed to be significant."
New York Knicks have too many point guards
Elfrid Payton has settled in as the New York Knicks' starting point guard, but his job is definitely not safe. There's a reason why the Knicks chose Quickley, the 6-foot-3 standout from Kentucky, in the 2020 NBA Draft despite an abundance of playmakers on the squad.
At least one of the guards who Begley mentioned may be up for trade once the Knicks are able to assess which of these players will be part of their future.
After all, a team only needs two or possibly three point guards on their roster while the surplus will eventually be traded or cut. As NBA trade rumors go, don't be surprised to see the New York Knicks highlight some of their guards in a few games to increase their trade value and then ship them off to the highest bidder.
Dennis Smith Jr. appears to be the one with the most trade value, but the Knicks will have to showcase him at some point to let buyers know that he isn't damaged goods.
As New York Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau explained in the Begley report, Smith has a "pretty deep" contusion and he needs to be reconditioned to play once he's cleared.
Any number of teams could become suitors for their guards, particularly those that are title contenders or vying for a playoff spot and are missing that one ingredient that can take them over the hump. For some teams, they just need a backup guard.
The Brooklyn Nets, who lost Spencer Dinwiddie for the season due to a partially torn ACL, could knock on the New York Knicks' door as they are among the teams mentioned in recent NBA trade rumors. The LA Clippers, whom Kawhi Leonard reportedly had asked for a point guard from this offseason, could also give the Knicks a ring if they realize that their floor leader was right after all.
Guess the Lakers players!
