Post#235 » by Knicksfan1992 » Tue Jan 28, 2025 5:57 pm
Don't think the Pacers would really trade Turner unless they get a stud back of some sort. Knicks would almost certainly have to include Deuce and a 1st or two. This would have to be a pure future financial concern trade similar to Towns for this to happen IMO.
I also think while Turner is a good player he may not be as ideal a fit as some people think he is. His defense is not what it once was. He's kind of reverted to an offense-first stretch 5 instead of being a rim protecting menace like he once was. Some of that may have to do with the Pacers philosophy of simply outscoring teams and playing a more up and down style as opposed to a grind it out halfcourt game they used to play before Hali and Carlisle arrived. Maybe this is where having Thibs as your coach can help unlock some of the hidden value in a guy like Turner? But his rim protection numbers have sharply declined since Carlisle took over. If you want a comparison point, his DFG% within 6 feet is basically identical to Precious who is much smaller than Turner. That has nothing to do with scheme IMO. He's just somehow gotten way worse at protecting the rim when given the opportunity to do so.
Ideally, if you're moving Towns to the 4 for the majority of his minutes, to me, you're doing it with the idea that the trade-off would be much more elite defense from the 5 and that you can live with Towns not rebounding as much since he'll be more out of position. Is Turner that anymore? You'd have to have faith that Thibs could coax that out of him. He's also an awful rebounder for his size. He only gets 7 per game. On top of all that, the collateral damage of this trade would be moving Hart to the bench who, to me, has been our 3rd best player. You lose his rebounding with this unit as well.
It could work but, the Knicks would basically be tapped of assets to get it done and I'm not sure how much better Turner makes us.
If we're looking for rim protection, I think you could find it in cheaper ways without including Deuce or just hope that Mitch can come back healthy and provide it for 15-25 minutes a night.