The New York Knicks made sweeping changes to their roster this past offseason. They offloaded several first-round picks to acquire Mikal Bridges and sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Timberwolves.
The Knicks could go for a home run trade for Devin Booker in the offseason
Despite their 37-20 record through the first 57 games with this new team, they are still a tier below the top teams in the league. Therefore, they may need to add another star in the summer to match up with the league’s best teams.
Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker could be a player they pursue if he were to become available. NBA insider John Gambadoro suggested that Booker could be on the move this offseason if the Suns fail to reach the postseason.
“The biggest question now is Booker,” Gambadoro said. “Would Booker want to stay? If you traded Booker, you would get more for Booker than if you traded Durant. … So if you wanted to, you could trade Durant and Booker, completely start over, have a bunch of young players and draft picks.”
The Suns have been a major disappointment this season, as they are 11th in the Western Conference with a 27-31 record and have lost eight of their last 10 games. Despite having Booker and Kevin Durant at the helm, they have played severely below expectations. Booker is still playing at a high level, averaging 26.2 points and 6.8 assists with the Suns this season, and would be heavily sought after given that he is only 28-years-old.
Bringing in Booker would shake up the Knicks’ roster drastically
Additionally, the Suns have very little draft capital to build for the future, so they could consider shipping off their stars and kickstart a rebuild. As for the Knicks, they are limited on what moves they can make, and they might end up giving more than receiving to avoid going over the second apron.
Bringing in Booker might require trading OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson to make the salaries match in addition to some draft capital. Booker is currently in the first year of a four-year, $220 million contract and is making an average salary of $55 million per season.
While making a move for Booker would shake up the Knicks’ roster significantly, he could be the third star that could elevate them into true title contention. The downside would be that there would be a defensive drop-off, and defense has been problematic for the Knicks this season. However, the scoring prowess he provides might be too much to pass up on should he become available.
For now, how the rest of the season plays out for Phoenix will determine what direction the Suns will be heading into. The Knicks are still trying to figure it out with their new squad, and they may be hesitant to break it up so quickly. However, if he does become available, New York should gauge his interest and see what they would have to give up to bring him to the Big Apple.