01-25-2022, 12:01 AM
(01-24-2022, 11:40 PM)mvossman Wrote: If they are going to trade Brunson, I would be really curious what that would be for. Something like Kemba and 2 firsts would make a lot of sense, but it is hard to see this FO do that without making some kind of use of those picks and legitimately replace Brunson. I'm struggling to think what that could be. It really is a shame Brogdon cannot be traded. Something around a Brunson + THJ for Brogdon could make a lot of sense.
Put the shoe on the other foot. Would you pay two first round picks for Brunson, who is a UFA after this season? I just don't see it. Jalen is worth something. I'm not sure his bird rights are considering the type of contract he'll end up signing. If you are a team that wants him and thinks he'll help you achieve success right away, you might do a trade as a show of good will towards him and help with agreeing on his next contract and to ultimately achieve your playoff aspirations. Knicks are in the 11th seed in the East right now. Jalen would certainly make them better but they'd still be a play-in team or 7th or 8th seed. How much is that worth to that organization?
I think you'd be lucky to get your 23 FRP back (I believe that's the only first that New York owns that year) and maybe a contract dump. Powell for Kemba? Kemba would help fill some of the void that Brunson is going to leave, but Powell's been playing sneaky good for a while. Bullock for Kemba? Bullock's been playing okay as well. Even if we do land Dragic, I still think you need a Kemba like skillset to fill the void.
I think it's all predicated on the Mavericks discussions with Jalen to see if he wants to be here long term and if the Mavs can afford what he's asking. That's why I thought the Robinson for Brunson swap was interesting as I'm assuming the Knicks are having that same discussion with Mitchell. I'm also assuming that Mitchell's next contract is going to be less than Brunson's. Knicks have about $119m committed for 2022. $24m of that is team options on Barrett, Toppin, Reddish and Quickly. Taj is $5m non-guaranteed. Adding Brunson to the mix would put them in a similar place as the Mavericks, but instead of a decision on DFS, they'd have a decision on Robinson.