Why This Trade Makes Sense For The New York Knicks
While Julius Randle is playing the best basketball of his career, the New York Knicks have to make a choice sooner than later about his future with this organization. He is under contract this season and then for the 2021-22 season, his contract is partially-guaranteed for $4M, making him a prime trade target for many teams around the NBA.
His value is not going to get any higher than it is now and if the Knicks do not see a future with Randle being involved long-term, they need to trade him now to get the most out of him. Getting a player like Dorian Finney-Smith to put on the wing, along with a veteran big man like Johnson and a future first-round could be extremely beneficial, especially since this team’s main goal is to build a team through the draft.
As mentioned before, James Johnson is in the final year of his contract and the Knicks would likely opt to let him become a free agent, freeing up $15.7M in cap space. New York is already preparing to have a lot of cap space to go after some big name free agents next offseason, but with even more money, they could potentially look to sign two different players to max contracts.
The Knicks need to continue building a legit core to utilize moving forward and while R.J. Barrett and Julius Randle are their best players right now, trading Randle gives them the assets they need to continue building their core through the draft. Obi Toppin has the potential to be a very strong player for years to come and with Mitchell Robinson also playing well, the Knicks could very well be an attractive destination for some superstar players looking to lead a young group.
Plenty of players around the NBA would probably love to play for the New York Knicks if they can prove they can be a successful organization moving forward and all it takes is for the first domino to fall. Having the draft assets and young talent to make a trade for a superstar-type player is what the Knicks need and this trade gives them these assets to do so.
