Trades and Transactions Thread - 2025 Season Discussion

[JayTWill]

Do we have any picks left to attach when we trade KAT for Giannis?

2026 I think.

Can't trade the 2026 pick until draft day 2026

[knicksstuff]

They'll have about 11.5 million with 11 guys on the roster without making any other moves besides picking up Hukporti option.

So they'll have the TP MLE and minimums to fill 4 spots to stay under the second apron or Trade Mitch into some cap space and have a ton of different options

[WargamesX]

They'll have about 11.5 million with 11 guys on the roster without making any other moves besides picking up Hukporti option.

So they'll have the TP MLE and minimums to fill 4 spots to stay under the second apron or Trade Mitch into some cap space and have a ton of different options

Could they not pick up Huk’s option, then use the Tax MLE and then sign him to a similar deal he had before?

[seren]

Tax MLE players will not rescue this team. We have capable players on the bench that could have gotten tax MLE were they healthy. Cam Payne was a 6 million per player. Shamet used to make 10 million per. McBride would make mid level if he was FA. Precious is not that much worse than Obi. What we need is a different coach with a different approach. The roster is as good as you can put together with the resources we had.

[seren]

They did TJ Warren dirty

[WargamesX]

Tax MLE players will not rescue this team. We have capable players on the bench that could have gotten tax MLE were they healthy. Cam Payne was a 6 million per player. Shamet used to make 10 million per. McBride would make mid level if he was FA. Precious is not that much worse than Obi. What we need is a different coach with a different approach. The roster is as good as you can put together with the resources we had.

I am not a thibs fan, but also based on the belief that the team can be coached I think the right roleplayer could help this team a lot. The team doesn't have a starting PF (besides KAT but that is a coaching conversation) AND its sixth man is playing as its starting SG. Even with a new coach we got to hope they can find a starting PF to hopefully fix some of the roster issues.

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

They'll have about 11.5 million with 11 guys on the roster without making any other moves besides picking up Hukporti option.

So they'll have the TP MLE and minimums to fill 4 spots to stay under the second apron or Trade Mitch into some cap space and have a ton of different options

Could they not pick up Huk’s option, then use the Tax MLE and then sign him to a similar deal he had before?

Huk's contact as quoted per the usually reliable Spotrac is a thing of mystery.

That said, the Knicks could not pick up Huk's contact. But that would make him a free agent and any other team could offer him a contract.

[HopelessKnick]

I think for the upcoming offseason the most realistic type of trade would be one involving Mitch as it's centerpiece. We are not even attempting to play the KAT/Mitch line-up anymore so it does not seem to be in their plans at all. I had read some articles last season and in the offseason suggesting that the only thing that kept Mitch on the Knicks was Hartenstein leaving and him being injured throughout the summer etc. If the Knicks want to go the route of a 5 out offense they may look at getting a 2 way shooting big back. Someone in the mold of Myles Turner. Again we can't trade for someone at that level because we lack the assets but someone that can provide that.

An alternative strategy could be trying to sign Brook Lopez for that 20-25 stretch big role while trading Mitch for a big 6'8/6'9 2-way forward.

[HarthorneWingo]

I think for the upcoming offseason the most realistic type of trade would be one involving Mitch as it's centerpiece. We are not even attempting to play the KAT/Mitch line-up anymore so it does not seem to be in their plans at all. I had read some articles last season and in the offseason suggesting that the only thing that kept Mitch on the Knicks was Hartenstein leaving and him being injured throughout the summer etc. If the Knicks want to go the route of a 5 out offense they may look at getting a 2 way shooting big back. Someone in the mold of Myles Turner. Again we can't trade for someone at that level because we lack the assets but someone that can provide that.

An alternative strategy could be trying to sign Brook Lopez for that 20-25 stretch big role while trading Mitch for a big 6'8/6'9 2-way forward.

Mitch has one more season left on his contract. Towns can’t guard the center position. I’m not sure why we don’t play them together more often but I think that we should.

[seren]

Tax MLE players will not rescue this team. We have capable players on the bench that could have gotten tax MLE were they healthy. Cam Payne was a 6 million per player. Shamet used to make 10 million per. McBride would make mid level if he was FA. Precious is not that much worse than Obi. What we need is a different coach with a different approach. The roster is as good as you can put together with the resources we had.

I am not a thibs fan, but also based on the belief that the team can be coached I think the right roleplayer could help this team a lot. The team doesn't have a starting PF (besides KAT but that is a coaching conversation) AND its sixth man is playing as its starting SG. Even with a new coach we got to hope they can find a starting PF to hopefully fix some of the roster issues.

These are the same concerns any contender faces. The CBA is very restrictive in what can be done. Which was my point. Whoever you will get for tax payer’s MLE is not better than what we have on the roster. The roster needs to be better optimized. Sure if there were no restrictions, we could use better players. The thing is those better players will not be available for what we can give. Even regular MLE doesn’t get you much. The player you are talking about is a 30-40 million per player under the current cap. So you have to sacrifice an important player to get that one and then you have another hole to fill.

[Spree2Houston]

We basically need first round picks to draft role players and fill out our team. But we don’t have many of those atm. We’ll have a pick next year. Dadiet and Kolek need to have prominent roles next season.

[KnicksGadfly]

Tax MLE players will not rescue this team. We have capable players on the bench that could have gotten tax MLE were they healthy. Cam Payne was a 6 million per player. Shamet used to make 10 million per. McBride would make mid level if he was FA. Precious is not that much worse than Obi. What we need is a different coach with a different approach. The roster is as good as you can put together with the resources we had.

I feel there's a bit of cherrypicking going on here. We can't use Payne or Shamet as examples. Shamet used to make 10 million per...that was a contract signed a while back, before he had to go through the G League draft. Payne has been a journeyman throughout his career. His last few years, he's been on cheap contracts. Precious and Obi are such fundamentally different guys, it's hard to make a comparison.

McBride might get paid more if he was an FA, but even if he was, I'd love it if we can get more McBride level players at other positions at the MLE.

Moreover, the Knicks do seem to be able to develop role players deep in the draft, and we have several guys in development now - Dadiet, Kolek, Hukporti. Hitting on those guys would be huge.

That's not to say that we can't benefit from a coaching change. Thibs' strength and weakness is that he goes all out as a coach. If you need to win one game, that's good. If you're in a tough playoff series, that's good. If you're trying to navigate an 82 game season while focusing on the postseason as the ultimate measure of success, then that's not as good. I haven't seen him change enough from that front to justify keeping him, but we'll see.

Mike Malone, as a coach, seems to be the standard for that. The championship Nuggets played some scrubs that can't get minutes anymore in this league in the regular season, but they rode a really short rotation to a title. There's a time and place.

[WargamesX]

Tax MLE players will not rescue this team. We have capable players on the bench that could have gotten tax MLE were they healthy. Cam Payne was a 6 million per player. Shamet used to make 10 million per. McBride would make mid level if he was FA. Precious is not that much worse than Obi. What we need is a different coach with a different approach. The roster is as good as you can put together with the resources we had.

I am not a thibs fan, but also based on the belief that the team can be coached I think the right roleplayer could help this team a lot. The team doesn't have a starting PF (besides KAT but that is a coaching conversation) AND its sixth man is playing as its starting SG. Even with a new coach we got to hope they can find a starting PF to hopefully fix some of the roster issues.

These are the same concerns any contender faces. The CBA is very restrictive in what can be done. Which was my point. Whoever you will get for tax payer’s MLE is not better than what we have on the roster. The roster needs to be better optimized. Sure if there were no restrictions, we could use better players. The thing is those better players will not be available for what we can give. Even regular MLE doesn’t get you much. The player you are talking about is a 30-40 million per player under the current cap. So you have to sacrifice an important player to get that one and then you have another hole to fill.

Under normal circumstances yes, but next FA is ”dry” when it comes to cap space. Only two teams the pistons and the Nets have a lot cap space. I think three teams have a full MLE. The Knicks might be able to get a better player than expected using the Tax payer MLE. Especially if that player knows they could start on a contender in NY. It also helps that FA has a lot of PF and Centers this year and that is what we actually need.

[thebuzzardman]

One thing that MIGHT help the Knicks is that the new CBA will force some "ok" NBA players to take some pretty sh*tty contracts, as the new NBA CBA makes the NBA somewhat resemble the NFL. The top players, the QBs and WRs, I guess elite OTs, get paid, everyone else, not so much - in general.
In the NBA, there are enough high drafted guys who show out who make 40 million, stars on a 3rd contact making 60 and soon 70 million per, but SOME role bench players are going to have to take a lot less.

Will the good bench players still get 10, 12, even 16 million? Sure. But I think there's going to be more and more Shamet/Payne like deals for vets who are "ok", because teams aren't going to risk the 1st and 2nd apron for some random vet scrub.
So, 2nd round picks become more valuable, the G-League will matter more and aging vets who are only "ok" will get contracts much closer to the league minimum.

It's hardly cause for celebration. These aren't difference making players, just that if the Knicks move on from Payne or Shamet, or honestly Precious, there will be other replacement level NBA players willing to play for not that much, quite a few of them.

[sol537]

1) KAT + Hart + Pick for Giannis + Crazy Eyes Porter
2) Dump Thibs in favor of Dan Hurley or Johnnie Bryant
3) Convince Grimes to come back for the MLE to start at SG
4) JB / Grimes / Bridges / OG / Giannis gets you the title with a competent coach
5) Bench squad of Mitch, Porter, McCullar, Deuce, and Kolek is strong enough

/end dream scenario

[Knicksfan1992]

Was thinking last night before bed about how much our offense truly misses Donte and how the change from Donte/Randle/IHart to Mikal/KAT has fundamentally changed how we approach offense. We've become a much slower, methodical team in the halfcourt IMO but have gained much more consistent tough shot making with less reliance on offensive rebounds to keep our offense afloat. This should, in theory, translate better in a playoff atmosphere than last year's offense did but does provide it's moments of frustration. It's an interesting dynamic and one that has drew the ire from some fans as making us too predictable/stagnant on offense. The Knicks have tried to piece together DDV's "let it fly" approach by encouraging Deuce to shoot more, signing Cam Payne who is a willing gunner, and one thing that I think has helped the offense "look better" recently is Shamet being much more willing to let it fly a la DDV last season which is what we signed him for.... Since Brunson went out, Shamet has upped his 3 point attempts per game to 3.8 in 20 minutes a night. Roughly equates to 6.8 per 36 minutes. Before Brunson's injury Landry was at 5.7 per 36. We need this trend to continue IMO. Last year, DDV was at 10.8 3 point attempts per 36 and it was a key part of keeping defenses honest.

Given all that info, I was thinking how we can get a better replacement for DDV this offseason that allows Hart to move to the bench. Tough task.

The simple solution may be inserting Deuce into the SL. Deuce is at around 7 threes attempted per 36 which is not quite DDV level but a decent facsimile. My concerns are that a Deuce and Brunson backcourt is extremely small. Deuce's shot is not nearly as consistent as DDV's. Leaving Deuce off the bench may hurt it's ability to produce anything in lieu of the starters. Rebounding could become a major issue without Hart (you may have to just live with this no matter what if KAT is C and OG is PF). I wouldn't hate if teh Knicks went this direction next season. I don't think Thibs will agree. You probably would need a coaching change IMO.

So I tried sorting by some key metrics from DDV's Knicks season to see who may potentially fit. Since DDV's 3 point attempt rate was extremely outlier high (70%!!!) I lowered that to 60%, at least 6 3pa's per 36 minutes, I went with height of at least 6'4" since it seems Thibs values having a minimum height requirement next to Brunson, 36% and above on 3's, and at least 1 "stock" per 36. These are the results of the players who I think would be "realistically gettable" this offseason:

(Note I don't support trading or acquiring all of these names. Just trying to get an idea of who would fit the mold of DDV on offense while being enough of an "event generator" on defense)

Donte DiVincenzo (obviously lol)
Keon Ellis (would be an amazing trade target IMO)
Luke Kennard
Taurean Prince
Garrison Matthews
Brice Sensabaugh
Dorian Finney-Smith
AJ Green
Georges Niang
Grayson Allen
Sam Hauser
Malik Beasley
Derrick White (only reason he's realistic to me is because the Celtics basically may have to cut salary this offseason otherwise I don't think he'd be here.)
Buddy Hield
Max Strus
Gary Trent Jr.

We've seen the Knicks linked to a few of these names before. Some of these guys would fall in the mold of decent 10-20 mpg a night. Others may be able to be full time starters:

If I had my druthers I'd really be calling Sac on Keon. Strus may be slowly getting squeezed out of Cleveland. He'd be an interesting target. GTJ will be a MLE candidate. Beasley too.

[thebuzzardman]

Was thinking last night before bed about how much our offense truly misses Donte and how the change from Donte/Randle/IHart to Mikal/KAT has fundamentally changed how we approach offense. We've become a much slower, methodical team in the halfcourt IMO but have gained much more consistent tough shot making with less reliance on offensive rebounds to keep our offense afloat. This should, in theory, translate better in a playoff atmosphere than last year's offense did but does provide it's moments of frustration. It's an interesting dynamic and one that has drew the ire from some fans as making us too predictable/stagnant on offense. The Knicks have tried to piece together DDV's "let it fly" approach by encouraging Deuce to shoot more, signing Cam Payne who is a willing gunner, and one thing that I think has helped the offense "look better" recently is Shamet being much more willing to let it fly a la DDV last season which is what we signed him for.... Since Brunson went out, Shamet has upped his 3 point attempts per game to 3.8 in 20 minutes a night. Roughly equates to 6.8 per 36 minutes. Before Brunson's injury Landry was at 5.7 per 36. We need this trend to continue IMO. Last year, DDV was at 10.8 3 point attempts per 36 and it was a key part of keeping defenses honest.

Given all that info, I was thinking how we can get a better replacement for DDV this offseason that allows Hart to move to the bench. Tough task.

The simple solution may be inserting Deuce into the SL. Deuce is at around 7 threes attempted per 36 which is not quite DDV level but a decent facsimile. My concerns are that a Deuce and Brunson backcourt is extremely small. Deuce's shot is not nearly as consistent as DDV's. Leaving Deuce off the bench may hurt it's ability to produce anything in lieu of the starters. Rebounding could become a major issue without Hart (you may have to just live with this no matter what if KAT is C and OG is PF). I wouldn't hate if teh Knicks went this direction next season. I don't think Thibs will agree. You probably would need a coaching change IMO.

So I tried sorting by some key metrics from DDV's Knicks season to see who may potentially fit. Since DDV's 3 point attempt rate was extremely outlier high (70%!!!) I lowered that to 60%, at least 6 3pa's per 36 minutes, I went with height of at least 6'4" since it seems Thibs values having a minimum height requirement next to Brunson, 36% and above on 3's, and at least 1 "stock" per 36. These are the results of the players who I think would be "realistically gettable" this offseason:

(Note I don't support trading or acquiring all of these names. Just trying to get an idea of who would fit the mold of DDV on offense while being enough of an "event generator" on defense)

Donte DiVincenzo (obviously lol)
Keon Ellis (would be an amazing trade target IMO)
Luke Kennard
Taurean Prince
Garrison Matthews
Brice Sensabaugh
Dorian Finney-Smith
AJ Green
Georges Niang
Grayson Allen
Sam Hauser
Malik Beasley
Derrick White (only reason he's realistic to me is because the Celtics basically may have to cut salary this offseason otherwise I don't think he'd be here.)
Buddy Hield
Max Strus
Gary Trent Jr.

We've seen the Knicks linked to a few of these names before. Some of these guys would fall in the mold of decent 10-20 mpg a night. Others may be able to be full time starters:

If I had my druthers I'd really be calling Sac on Keon. Strus may be slowly getting squeezed out of Cleveland. He'd be an interesting target. GTJ will be a MLE candidate. Beasley too.

Heild I feel blows and I've seen him shoot teams out of games more than shoot them in.

Beasley, Kennard, Trent Jr, Grayson Allen (every team needs a cantankerous d*chebag) would be interesting choices after Donte and Keon Ellis.

[Spree2Houston]

One thing that MIGHT help the Knicks is that the new CBA will force some "ok" NBA players to take some pretty sh*tty contracts, as the new NBA CBA makes the NBA somewhat resemble the NFL. The top players, the QBs and WRs, I guess elite OTs, get paid, everyone else, not so much - in general.
In the NBA, there are enough high drafted guys who show out who make 40 million, stars on a 3rd contact making 60 and soon 70 million per, but SOME role bench players are going to have to take a lot less.

Will the good bench players still get 10, 12, even 16 million? Sure. But I think there's going to be more and more Shamet/Payne like deals for vets who are "ok", because teams aren't going to risk the 1st and 2nd apron for some random vet scrub.
So, 2nd round picks become more valuable, the G-League will matter more and aging vets who are only "ok" will get contracts much closer to the league minimum.

It's hardly cause for celebration. These aren't difference making players, just that if the Knicks move on from Payne or Shamet, or honestly Precious, there will be other replacement level NBA players willing to play for not that much, quite a few of them.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker would be my target

[WaltFrazier]

I don't know about the above few posts targeting guards. We have guards we need size. Subbing Deuce in for Hart still makes us small.

I'd rather see a big 4 who can rebound and guard bigs, help Kat on the boards and move OG to his natural 3 spot and Mikal to 2. Hart off the bench. OR, a rim protector 5, Mitch or preferably someone like Poeltl, who can bump KAT to 4 and accomplish the same as above, more size and putting guys in their right positions.

[WargamesX]

I don't know about the above few posts targeting guards. We have guards we need size. Subbing Deuce in for Hart still makes us small.

I'd rather see a big 4 who can rebound and guard bigs, help Kat on the boards and move OG to his natural 3 spot and Mikal to 2. Hart off the bench. OR, a rim protector 5, Mitch or preferably someone like Poeltl, who can bump KAT to 4 and accomplish the same as above, more size and putting guys in their right positions.

That is exactly what I am looking for as well. In theory the Knicks will have Brunson, Kolek, Mikal, Hart, and Deuce under contract in their backcourt next year. Meanwhile the forwards on this team are really OG, Precious, and Dadiet. Though I think the PF has to be able to shoot a 3 ball shot. If it was just defense and rebounding Precious would be all we need at PF.

Regardless if the decide to do the 5 out offense or do double bigs next year….. I think getting a 3&D PF fixes a lot of this rosters issues.