Michael Carter-Williams (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The NBA Trade rumors continue and the New York Knicks are right in the middle.
The recent buzz about Phil Jackson actually trading Carmelo Anthony to the Cleveland Cavaliers seems to have died its natural death, and with Carmelo's no-trade clause, that seems impossible at this point.
Thus, the Knicks can get on with their business of building their team. They let go of Derek Fisher and it seems like a safe bet that there will be trades forthcoming, just not Anthony nor Kristaps Porzingis as Phil Jackson confirmed on ESPN.
"We're looking to improve this ballclub, there's no doubt," Jackson said. "The talent can still be better. It always can, so we're looking."I think it is a known fact that Carmelo has a no-trade [clause]. And we like Kris. Everybody likes Kris. There's not too many people that ever would say that I would trade [Kristaps]."
Foremost on the Knicks agenda is acquiring a point guard for the long-term and there have been multiple names that were linked to the team. Some big names such as Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies and more recently, Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks.
While those names are workable, the Knicks do not really have the assets to assemble a "Godfather offer." The Memphis Grizzlies have vowed to fight to the bitter end to keep Mike Conley and Teague, while being on the trade rumor mill, is not exactly being shopped by necessity, it's the Atlanta Hawks simply checking on what they could get.
The New York Knicks are bereft of draft picks and are unlikely to win a bidding war with stacked teams more equipped for trades such as the Boston Celtics. Thus, they may have to back off from those players.
The Milwaukee Bucks may present them with a new option in Michael Carter-Williams as suggested by Today's Fastbreak.
The reasoning behind trading for MCW, who has disappointed since he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2014 from one of the worst Draft classes ever, is that the Knicks need a point guard-any point guard that would be an improvement over Jose Calderon. TF points out that Calderon is ranked 49th among point guards in Player Efficiency Rating (PER). While MCW is not a game changer at 28th, this may be the only certain option for the Knicks.
The Knicks will once again compete for free agents in the summer with Conley, Rajon Rondo, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Jennings, Deron Williams and familiar face Jeremy Lin on the playmaker market, but there is no assurance they would get any of them.
