As Ian Begley of ESPN.com pointed out today on Twitter, the Knicks have now lost nine of their last 10 games and are eight games below .500, which is the worst they’ve been all season, after losing to the Nuggets. Optimists will point out that star Carmelo Anthony missed three of the last eight games, but he has played in four of the last five and New York has lost each game.
At 23-31, the Knicks are 12th in the Eastern Conference. Those facts and the Knicks’ current slide should be enough to suggest the team should be looking to move whatever they can for assets that could make a difference down the road. One thing worth noting is the Knicks also don’t own a pick in this year’s draft, which means they are not exactly set up well for the future.
What they do have, though, is a decent team for the present, albeit one that is lacking in some areas. With Anthony, the emergence of rookie power forward Kristaps Porzingis and free agent acquisitions Derrick Williams and Robin Lopez, the Knicks’ frontcourt isn’t spectacular, but it’s also not terrible. It’s actually rather solid (if Anthony is healthy). An upgrade is sorely needed in the backcourt, however. There have been talks indicating that the Knicks are interested in acquiring Jeff Teague. With a lack of viable starting point guards on the free agent market this summer, I think the Knicks should target Teague now.
That leads us to today’s shootaround topic: Should the Knicks be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?
Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what your thoughts are. We look forward to what you have to share.
Definitely should make a trade either for a point guard or trade these guys for a pick or two.
Do you think Calderon, 2018 first and afflalo would work for Teague? I think that’s an extremely fair trade. Gives the Hawks a starting caliber SG they need and great shooter/back up in Calderon. Thoughts?
Not even close to what it would take to get Teague. Porzingas and Melo are the only 2 players they have with any value.
That might be good value, but the Hawks really need a bigger wing back in a Teague trade and Afflalo isn’t that player.
Its time for Knicks to trade melo for future assets. This Team is not title ready, and melo should waive the no trade clause to get to a contender like the Clippers or Bulls.
Bulls have nothing to offer, not unless you want an injured Noah… Don’t forget the Bulls and Clippers are over the cap, which means they have to send out as much salary as they bring in with Melo. Most contender teams will be in similar scenarios. Only way Bulls could do that would be by including Noah. And young Blake Griffith for an old Melo? Doesn’t make sense for the Clippers to do that. I hate to say it but Melo is going to hold the team hostage with his salary like Kobe has done to the Lakers for the last 3 seasons. Phil Jackson should have been smarter than to get the team in this position. But hey, the Knicks won 2014 free-agency with the signing of Melo, you Knicks fans can always cherish that accomplishment. If the Bulls had signed him, he would have been their problem. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Blake Griffin. My auto correct is messing with names now.
Actually the Cavs won 2014 free agency by bringing back LeBron…but outside of them I would agree lol.
Heh heh
Heh heh
Blake for Melo sounds so good to me.and try to get Teague in exchange for affalo straight up and then you add pick or grant. But point guard is a must for this team.man there is no one to make plays for all these players.
Blake for Melo sounds so good because it would never happen. Even with his recent off the court issue/injury, Blake has much more value than Melo and is also a much better player. And the Knicks aren’t getting Teague for Afflalo straight up, they would definetly need to send more value. I don’t see Grant holding much value to the Hawks and I doubt the Knicks are willing to trade a future pick (considering they need all the picks they can possibly keep).
They don’t have their first-round pick this year, so they might as well buy, if they make a move at all. No reason to sell, unless they can get a first-rounder back. And they’re not doing that unless they trade ‘Melo, KP or Afflalo.
I say move Melo before it’s too late. His pay will only increase while his health declines. They are still at least another season away from being a real contender. They could possibly expedite that if they could get assets for Melo but the landscape changes quickly. At the beginning of the season they probably could have traded him to Chicago but now, Chicago can’t afford him, unless they sent Noah out as part of the package that would probably have to include Gasol. Leaving Chicago without a center. Then the Knicks could re-sign Gasol and shed Noah’s $13mil. The Bulls could also throw in some young talent like McDermott and some draft picks. But the Bulls can’t seem to make up their mind on whether or not they are in win-now mode and would never send out both centers. Taj is a 4 and so is Porzingas, so is Mirotić. Those are the only contracts that could really be combined to match Melo’s money. So you see, as his pay goes up and his age goes up, he’s going to get harder and harder to move. Knicks fans may have to wait for Melo to retire, like Lakers fans are waiting for Kobe. The downside to winning the Melo lottery of 2014.
No sir.
No thank you.
It’s already too late.
Unless the end of Melo’s career has the same arc as Kareem’s, Nix are screwed. Phil married Melo, now he can’t divorce him.
KP is only untouchable and Melo is probably not tradeable right now. I would do what it takes to get Teague. He’s young and super talented and has underperformed this year. He’s also cheap for next year, which is his last under contract and will be motivated.
I’d trade Afflalo in a minute as he’d be easy to replace in off season.
Sell, if possible. I just don’t see them having a lot of pieces that they can easily move. Don’t see a market for guys like Carmelo and Calderon.