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The New York Knicks already added a veteran to the backcourt, trading for Derrick Rose. Now they reportedly have their eyes on Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo.
The Knicks have had a surprisingly strong season thus far. Julius Randle is playing like a fringe All-Star, Immanuel Quickley looks like a rookie diamond-in-the-rough and R.J. Barrett continues to take steps forward. They aren’t currently in playoff position but that appears to be the goal after they traded for Derrick Rose last week, adding veteran scoring to an already crowded backcourt rotation.
According to Mark Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks are interested in another win-now trade and have kept their attention on Victor Oladipo and Bradley Beal. Per Berman, the Knicks were particularly protective of key assets like Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and their future first-round picks in the Rose deal because they wanted them available if a deal for Oladipo or Beal materializes.
Could the New York Knicks actually trade for Bradley Beal or Victor Oladipo?
A trade for Beal seems unlikely, both because Beal and his agent have continually said he’s committed to staying and winning and Washington, and because the Knicks’ package probably isn’t that enticing. Knox and Ntilikina are young and have theoretical potential but there’s a reason neither is playing meaningful minutes for the Knicks right now. The Knicks have several additional picks incoming but it’s not clear the package they’d put out would be better than what teams like the Warriors, Pelicans, Thunder or Rockets could offer.
Oladipo is a bit more plausible, although he’s already been traded once this season, moving from Indiana to Houston as part of the James Harden deal. He’s played well this season but he’s dropped a tier from his All-Star peak and, at 28, his best years may be behind him. Oladipo is a free agent at the end of this season and Houston may prefer a trade to re-signing him or losing him for nothing but are the Knicks really interested in throwing down a long-term deal for fringe All-Star whose timeline doesn’t match the rest of their young core at all? (It’s the Knicks, so the answer is probably yes).