New York Knicks
The Knicks need an All-Star level player on their roster and even though Julius Randle should be an All-Star for the first-time in his career this season, that is not enough for the Knicks to be a legit playoff team in the East. If they were to trade for DeMar DeRozan though, there is no reason New York should miss the playoffs.
Not only is DeRozan capable of being the leader of this young Knicks team, but he can give them that third high-level scoring threat they need. While he would be their best scoring option in general, the Knicks have struggled to find reliable production out of other guys on their roster besides Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett.
Winning now is extremely important for New York as they have tried to lure some big names in free agency to “The Big Apple” over the years, but no superstar player wants to play for a losing franchise. By trading for a star-level player near the NBA trade deadline and proving to the rest of the league that they can win, the Knicks will have plenty of superstar talents wanting to sign a contract with them in the coming offseasons.
Not to mention, the Knicks could opt to keep DeMar DeRozan long-term if they wanted to since he is in the final year of his contract. Trading for DeRozan allows the Knicks to make the playoffs this season for the first time in eight years and also gives them the leverage for adding superstar talents moving forward.
While they would have to give up a good amount of draft capital and some young talents like Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Knox, it is very much worthwhile for the New York Knicks to go out and pursue DeMar DeRozan.
