Breaking down a potential Knicks trade for Karl-Anthony Towns

The Knicks are three Boston Celtics wins away from the official start of their offseason. This year, teams can talk to their own free agents on the day after the NBA Finals ends, so if the Celtics sweep the Dallas Mavericks, the Knicks can start negotiations with OG Anunoby, Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa and their other free agents on June 15. They can also start to negotiate extensions with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle after the Finals ends.

Once again, New York enters the offseason well-positioned for a significant trade, as they have three picks in the top 38 of the 2024 NBA Draft, own all of their future first-round picks and the rights to three additional first-rounders.

If the Knicks want to upgrade their roster this offseason or down the line (they do), a trade is the most likely option. With that in mind, we took a look at the math behind a Karl-Anthony Towns trade below and put together a few packages that would work under NBA trade guidelines *with the help of **Yossi Gozlan.

*This is not a commentary on whether the trade packages are advantageous for either Minnesota or New York. **Gozlan has a remarkably informative YouTube page if you want to learn more about teams’ cap implications.

BOGDANOVIC’S ROLE

Let’s start with Bojan Bogdanovic. His contract is currently guaranteed for $2 million. It becomes fully guaranteed at $19 million on June 28. If you’re thinking about a trade, the Knicks’ decision on Bogdanovic is key.

Here’s Gozlan: “I think it makes sense to keep him and guarantee him for the upcoming season if the Knicks feel like there is a trade for an All-Star on the horizon. Attaching his $19 million with Julius Randle’s $28.9 million allows them to match for just about anyone. If Bogdanovic is gone, they likely need to trade Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson, or even try to get Precious Achiuwa involved in a sign-and-trade to get enough money to send out.”

Would the Knicks move any of the other players Gozlan mentions above? My read is that any player outside of Brunson would be available in the right trade, as you’d expect.

MAKING SALARIES MATCH?

If they re-sign Anunoby…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/breaking-down-potential-knicks-trade-164523628.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-06-07 16:45:23

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