New York Knicks
They may not be true “contenders” in terms of winning a title, but the New York Knicks are a playoff team in the Eastern Conference that improved drastically this offseason on the offensive end of the court. However, they still do not have much depth behind Julius Randle.
Obi Toppin is a young player they will most likely look to incorporate into their rotations as the new season progresses, but Taj Gibson, Mitchell Robinson, and Nerlens Noel are big men who do not really fit any other spot on the court besides the center position. Maybe Gibson can slide over and give Randle some breaks here and there, but the Knicks would highly benefit from adding another veteran like Thaddeus Young.
He can score in the low-post and mid-range, he can pass, and most importantly, Thaddeus Young can hold his own defensively against multiple positions. Quite honestly, Young is an older version and more experienced version of Julius Randle in a way, so the New York Knicks would definitely be getting some key value in their second-unit by trading for a guy like Young.
Moving contracts to bring in Thaddeus Young’s $14.1M contract for the 2021-22 season could be tough for the Knicks to do, but they are about $16M under the tax threshold right now and a trade consisting of Obi Toppin and Kevin Knox II, plus some draft picks, could definitely be enough value for the Spurs to let the veteran big man go.
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This trade does ultimately come down to the New York Knicks though and whether they favor youth and growth over experience or vice versa.
Toppin and draft picks presents the future of the New York Knicks and something they can focus developmental time into this year, but at the same time, Thaddeus Young is an experienced frontcourt option that knows his role in this league, thus he can contribute to a contending team like the Knicks.
GM Scott Perry and President Leon Rose have done a fantastic job at building this New York Knicks team through the years and whatever decision they make, it will probably be the right one for this franchise. The Knicks are finally trending in the right direction and quite honestly, whether they trade for Young or not, they are in a good position moving forward.
