The New York Knicks are still looking to add a center at some point to make up for the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Mitchell Robinson is currently the starting center, and the undersized Precious Achiuwa will likely be the backup, but concerns about Robinson’s health following two ankle surgeries have prompted discussions to add at the center position.
Knicks give up haul to land Anthony Davis in mock trade
Heavy Sports’ Collin Loring proposed a three-team trade that would send shockwaves across the NBA. In his trade, the Knicks would land Los Angeles Lakers’ star Anthony Davis in a trade that would also involve the Golden State Warriors as a ton of pieces would be moved around. The trade from Loring reads as follows:
Knicks get: Anthony Davis
Lakers get: Stephen Curry, Moses Moody
Warriors get: Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, D’Angelo Russell
Adding Anthony Davis to the Knicks could solve their issue at center
The initial mock excluded draft capital, but assuming this trade were to happen, several first-round picks would have to be dealt to reach a final agreement. If this were to occur, the Knicks would have themselves one of the game’s best players at the center position while the Lakers would pair LeBron James with the greatest shooter in the history of the game.
Davis is still one of the best players in the NBA. Last season, he averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 76 games, the first time since the 2019-20 season that he played in at least 60 games.
However, the price the Knicks would have to pay to bring in a guy like Davis would be a lot. Assuming the nine-time All-Star came in and Randle was on his way out, OG Anunoby would likely move over to the power forward position and Josh Hart would become the team’s starting small forward. Looking at them position-wise, New York would still have a great starting five as Jalen Brunson and Davis could be one of the most lethal duos in the league.
Doing this trade would also guarantee that the Knicks find a great replacement for Randle, who can become a free agent after this upcoming season if he and New York can’t agree on an extension before then.
The Knicks would lose depth by doing this mock trade
However, their bench would be severely weakened given that this deal doesn’t include a secondary bench piece attached to it and one of the Knicks’ strengths currently is their depth in the second unit. In addition, Davis is no stranger to the injury bug like Robinson, as he has missed a significant amount of time with various injuries over the past several seasons. His older age (31) would also imply that more injuries will only continue to slow him down as his career plays out.
At this time, there is no indication that the Lakers are willing to move on from Davis, and the Knicks have also made it clear that they are not looking to move Randle at this time. However, as the season progresses, a lot more will be known about the direction each team is heading in, and perhaps a league-altering trade could be in order.