The New York Knicks picked up an important win during Thursday night’s NBA action over the Houston Rockets. The Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak, improving their record to 8-6 on the road.
New York was extremely short-handed in the game, as four players, Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes and Kevin Knox, are all in the league’s health and safety protocols. Derrick Rose was dealing with a sore ankle as well and didn’t play in the second half.
Now 13-16 on the season, hopefully, this win jumpstarts the team and gets them on the right track. If not, Leon Rose and Scott Perry could look to shake things up with a trade.
New York-based a lot of their offseason decisions, especially the way they structured contracts, around pulling off a trade. Every player they signed, other than Kemba Walker, has a team option the last season of their deal. The money amounts are also totaled in a way to help match salary should the need arise.
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The New York Knicks got a first-hand look at one of their potential targets on Thursday night. According to the New York Post, veteran wing Eric Gordon is someone that the Knicks could have some interest in acquiring in a trade.
“Knicks point guard Derrick Rose has had Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon on his radar. Now, with the Dec. 15 trade marker past, Knicks president Leon Rose does, too. Gordon is on a long list of potentially available players the Knicks have talked about internally, according to a source. The 3-point shooting guard isn’t a fit for the rebuilding Rockets, as he turns 33 on Christmas Day.”
Rose and Gordon go way back. They played together in AAU for the Mean Streets Express, a Chicago-based team. Being dubbed ‘The Eric and Derrick Show’ there were some people who believed them to be the best backcourt duo that has ever graced a court on the AAU circuit.
This isn’t the first time that Rose and Gordon tried to team up in the NBA. Upon being traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Knicks in 2016, Rose got on the recruiting trail. He was trying to convince Gordon, who was a free agent at the time, to join him in New York.
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Gordon ultimately signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, but he could be a good fit for the current Knicks team. New York could use some more consistent shooting and Gordon would provide that, as he is in the midst of the best shooting season of his career.
He would also bring a ton of playoff experience to a New York Knicks team that a majority of the rotation players are lacking outside of last season’s five-game first-round series loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
There will be plenty of competition when it comes to acquiring Eric Gordon. He is someone contending teams will have on their radar as well. At 33-years old, the rebuilding Rockets will like to cash in on his strong season, parting ways with one of the last remnants of the Mike D’Antoni era in Houston.
