Woj bomb alert!
If you didn’t see the trade yet, here’s what went down:
New York Knicks get: Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill, 2025 second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Atlanta Hawks get: Kevin Knox, 2022 protected first-round pick (via Charlotte)
Cam Reddish is a very talented player. He’s a natural scorer with a high ceiling, and at just 22 years old he has lots of time to reach it. Getting a player like Reddish by only giving up a protected first and a third-string player is crazy. What a trade for New York.
This deal had me thinking about what the near future will look like for the Knicks. After their cinderella 2020-21 campaign, it seemed that they would be a perennial playoff roster behind the duo of Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett. However, the 2021-22 season has been a massive disappointment for the team. Randle has regressed to his pre-All-Star self, Barrett has been inconsistent, and offseason acquisitions such as Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker have not pushed the team over the edge.
So, what’s next for the Knicks? Should they continue their playoff push, or should they retool around their young talent?
It’s tough to say when we’re not even halfway through the season. The Knicks have the players they need to turn things around and make the postseason (especially when Derrick Rose returns, who has arguably been their best player).
On the other hand, if they keep struggling, I think this should be an active trade deadline for New York. The young core of R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson, and Obi Toppin is really solid and flipping veteran players could bolster it further and set the Knicks up for the next 5+ years.
I think a Kemba Walker trade should happen in either situation. He’s still a starting-caliber point guard, and since his contract is just $8 million I could see a borderline playoff team willing to give up a young player to get him (New Orleans perhaps? Jaxson Hayes or Kira Lewis would be solid returns for Kemba).
Overall, I’m interested to see how this season plays out for the Knicks. Whether they make playoffs or not, it will at least be exciting to see R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish reunited and hooping together.
What do you think the Knicks should do next? Should they try to compete, or should they go young? Let me know! Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
The Bench Mob Blog 