Knixkik wrote:SGA or Anunoby are the 2 obvious players. But Toronto will want more win-now pieces so we may not be a good trade partner. SGA makes a lot of sense on paper. Not as good as Mitchell but better defensively and a better fit, but the cost will be the same as with Mitchell. Unfortunately the cost Dejounte Murray was to Atlanta feels like the price the Knicks front office wants to pay for a star. Maybe missed the boat there since they weren’t interested in paying the premium for a player of Mitchell’s caliber. So it’s either hope the price for SGA isn’t outrageous (Knicks just made a trade with OKC so maybe they are a better negotiating fit than utah) or wait things out until next year and see what shakes out elsewhere.
I am going to keep throwing this out there but a third option is wait to see if the Wizards implode and if they do maybe the Knicks can grab Kyle Kuzma at a rebate price. He has a player option this year and wants to get paid meanwhile Beal and KP combined earn $82 Mil next year. That is more than Randle, RJ, and Brunson combined. The Knicks might be willing to pay Kuzma around 20 because that was basically Fournier’s contract anyhow. Flipside if the wizard’s pay Kuzma they might slip into the luxury tax next year and would also deny them the ability to have max cap room in 2024.
Kuzma is a large combo forward, not the most efficient last year when the Wizards did not have a PG. Kuzma isn’t a 3 pt sniper but he can hit those shots and has a bit of a clutch gene on hitting threes in pressure situations. Plus he is a CAA client, and has played with Randle before on the Lakers so him joining shouldn’t upset Randle’s delicate sensibilities.
The cost should be relatively affordable too and might only cost a few of those highly protected future first and Fournier.
Brunson/IQ/Rose
Barrett/Grimes/Rose
Kuzma/Reddish
Randle/Toppin
Mitch/IHart
I think the role as 4th option starter fits his game better than Fournier who due to how good he is on ball but bad defensively has the fans and the media asking that he be sent to the bench. Kuzma has an overall game and can create for himself but would likely benefit from having a PG. Here is Kuzma’s stats v. Jerami Grants.
Grant: 19.2 pts on 14.9 fga, .491 eFG%, 4.1 reb, 2.4 ast, 0.9 stl, 1.0 blk, 1.8 tov
(advanced:) .556 TS%, .363 3PAr, .371 FTr, 12.4 reb%, 12.5 ast%, 25.7 usg%, 2.3 ws)
Kuzma: 17.1 pts on 14.2 fga, .520 eFG%, 8.5 reb, 3.5 ast, 0.6 stl, 0.9 blk, 2.6 tov
(advanced:) .547 TS%, .401 3PAr, .234 FTr, 24.3 reb%, 16.3 ast%, 24.2 usg%, 2.0 ws)
9/8/2022 7:41 PM