The Knicks may be preparing to make a multi-player trade<\/p>\n
Pretty much everyone understands the Knicks are light on expendable salary, and can\u2019t take back more money than they receive in trades after hard-capping themselves at the second apron. Suggested big-man targets have reflected this<\/a> reality at every turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n Heck, the Knicks themselves have played into it. All along, the implication has been New York can\u2019t acquire someone who earns more money than Deuce McBride, who makes just under $4 million, and is bound to find himself in the rumor mill<\/a> with free agency on the horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sure, the Knicks could attach more money to him, such as the contracts for Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet. But consolidating two or three players into one name would knife into their guaranteed-contract stores, and therefore their depth.<\/p>\n Except, maybe not.<\/p>\n The Knicks have the ability to sign-and-trade any of their two-way players from last season to another team as part of any deal. So, in theory, they could ink Trey Jemison III, Dillon Jones, or Kevin McCullar Jr. to a contract, and then immediately flip them to another team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adding that money to a package with Dadiet, Kolek, and\/or McBride would then allow New York to take back a more expensive player. And while this doesn\u2019t mean the team would be in line to land a $20 million rotation piece, it does suggest they have higher ambitions than we realize.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say, for instance, the Knicks sign-and-trade Jones and Jemison on minimum deals, and attach them to McBride. Sending out that much money would allow them to take back a player earning just over $9 million. That\u2019s a big difference than if they were to trade Deuce alone, and it doesn\u2019t force them to include someone like Kolek.<\/p>\n New York has done something like this before<\/p>\n If this sounds like yours truly is wearing a tinfoil hat and sunglasses, well, you\u2019re not wrong. I\u2019ve got a tinfoil pajama onesie, too.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Knicks have done something like this before. They signed and traded multiple players\u2014Mamadi Diakite and Shake Milton\u2014to help make the math work on the Mikal Bridges deal. What\u2019s happening now could be a smaller extension of that process.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, if you consider the granular ingenuity<\/a> with which this front office usually works, we should almost expect it. And look, it makes sense.<\/p>\n
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