Knicks, Pistons Named Ideal Trade Partners
If speed dial was still in style, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons would likely be on each other's lists.
With the teams having previously done business in February, Pistons insider James Edwards III matched them in another hypothetical deal, one that gives Detroit some veteran reliability while offering the Knicks financial relief. In the deal suggested by Edwards, the Knicks land Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey while sending Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride, a 2025 first-round pick previously acquired from Detroit, multiple seconds back to the Motor City.
"For New York, this trade sheds $6.5 million in salary, so the financial goal is met," Edwards said, noting the Knicks reluctance to be "hard-capped at the first apron." "Additionally, per league sources, the Knicks were very interested in Ivey during the 2022 NBA Draft and nearly traded for him. A move like this would allow the Knicks to have some young, lottery-pick prospects in the pipeline who can also contribute right now."
The Knicks are continuing to seek ways to make up for the loss of Oklahoma City-bound Isaiah Hartenstein. Trading Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick who was on pace for rebounding history before an ankle injury interrupted his season, would seem to conflict with that goal but Duren would be an intriguing replacement considering he averaged 11.6 rebounds a game at 20 years old for Detroit last season.
New York was indeed interested in Ivey before the Pistons drafted him fifth overall out of Purdue in 2022. Ivey averaged 15.4 points and 3.8 assists in his sophomore campaign and would likely fill in for McBride's contributions in relief should such a deal be agreed upon.
McBride and Robinson would also help Detroit build at least something of a veteran foundation in the wake of a brutal 14-win season that didn't even end with redemption of yielding the top pick of the draft lottery. Detroit has been busy in the wake of hiring new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, having recently inked former Philadelphia 76er Tobias Harris to a two-year, $52 million deal.
"(Detroit) gets both a proven rim protector at the center spot in Robinson and a backup point guard in McBride," Edwards reasons. "Most importantly, the Pistons get back their future first-rounder that makes it very, very hard and puts them at a disadvantage if they were to consider a trade for a top-30-ish player in the very near future."
"Giving up Duren and Ivey would be tough, as both players still have upside, but the Pistons have to consider giving them extensions next summer, and Langdon didn’t draft either one."
The Knicks and Pistons previously bartered in February in a deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to Manhattan in exchange for a package headlined by veterans Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes. Neither team appears to be satisfied: Bogdanovic and Grimes have since been traded again while Burks and Fournier have since become free agents.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks