Detroit Pistons’ forward Saddiq Bey is the new name that has emerged as a potential trade deadline target for the New York Knicks, who want to upgrade their bench depth.
Bey has been drawing interest from several teams, with the Knicks among them, when the Pistons moved him to the bench in November.
SNY’s Ian Begley posited that Bey is viewed as an insurance depth at power forward behind Julius Randle and Obi Toppin.
“In general, a name that has been talked about recently is Saddiq Bey in Detroit. The Knicks are among the teams that have registered some interest in [Bey]. I don’t know how far discussions have gotten.”
Ian Begley via SNY
Bey is having an up-and-down third season with the Pistons after he was selected 19th overall in the same draft that the Knicks made Toppin the eighth selection.
The Villanova product is averaging 14.6 points and 4.5 rebounds this season for the Pistons. But those numbers slightly dropped to 13.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18 games off the bench. But he has regained his starting spot since late December.
In 30 games as a starter, Bey averaged 15.6 points and 5.1 rebounds. Curiously, he’s shooting better from downtown off the bench (37.1 percent on 5.4 attempts) as opposed to as a starter (32.7 percent on 5.7 attempts).
According to a recent report from The Athletic, the Pistons are not in a hurry to trade Bey, who is extension-eligible like Toppin this summer.
According to league sources, Detroit is having conversations about these players but is not overly eager to part with Bogdanovi?, Burks or Bey. It would take favorable returns for the Pistons to part with any of the three previously mentioned players before the deadline.
James Edwards III via The Athletic
Even if the Knicks pull off a trade for Bey, it’s hard to see how he figures in the Knicks’ rotation with Randle healthy. It has a Cam Reddish tragedy written all over it, killing the value of a former first-round pick.
It might only work if Toppin is dealt in a separate trade that will open up a pathway for Bey to become Randle’s main backup.
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