The New York Knicks are looking to make a big move ahead of the NBA trade deadline this season and the organization has turned their attention to Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox as a potential mid-season upgrade in their backcourt, sources told NBA Analysis Network.
Knicks general manager Scott Perry and team president of basketball operations Leon Rose have shown willingness to switch up their team’s roster over the last few seasons and with the Knicks currently struggling to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, everything has become more clear for them in terms of what this team needs.
Having one of the worst offenses in the league, the Knicks are in danger of missing the playoffs after claiming the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference a season ago. The need for change is very apparent with less than a week until the trade deadline and Fox is a young point guard that the Knicks believe can change the trajectory of their franchise.
De’Aaron Fox is in his fifth NBA season with the Kings and while his numbers have declined slightly this season due to injuries and the emergence of fellow young guard Tyrese Haliburton in the backcourt, Fox is still viewed by many around the league as one of the best trade assets leading up to next week’s deadline.
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Once Derrick Rose returns from his ankle surgery, some problems in the Knicks’ backcourt will be figured out, but it has grown very apparent this season that New York does not have the firepower to contend with other teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
The point guard spot in particular has long been a problem for the Knicks and they signed former All-Star Kemba Walker in free agency this past offseason, but he has not been the solution they had hoped for.
Fox, 24, recently received a five-year, $163 million deal from the Kings last offseason and while the Kings reportedly do not want to trade either De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton, they have not been to the playoffs since 2006 and are open to discussing all opportunities at the trade deadline.
Should they look to move Fox, the Kings are going to want an All-Star-level talent or another young, high-level talent like their skilled point guard, which is why there have been talks about Julius Randle possibly being on the move from New York to Sacramento to make this trade work.
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Randle signed a four-year, $117 million contract extension this past offseason with the Knicks, however, his production has been concerning. Almost all of Julius Randle’s numbers have declined since being an All-Star last season and now, there are some doubts about Randle’s ability to be the face of the franchise in New York.
The Knicks would prefer to keep Julius Randle, along with RJ Barrett, in a trade for De’Aaron Fox, but Sacramento has not been willing to budge on any asking price for Fox over the last month.
There are some within the Kings’ front-office that envision Julius Randle being a key building block and they believe that he is exactly the kind of frontcourt talent they need to pair with Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell moving forward, sources told NBA Analysis Network.
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Financially, it is possible for the Knicks to put together a trade package for Fox that does not include Julius Randle, instead including the likes of Evan Fournier, Alec Burks and one of their young guards in Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley or Miles McBride, but the Sacramento Kings have interest in both Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
The New York Knicks currently reside 1.5 games back from the 10-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference. There is still a fair amount of time left for the Knicks to turn things around with their current roster, but their increasing willingness to make a big trade ahead of the deadline next week will likely result in them reevaluating the moves they made this past offseason.
