Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks. Photo by Michelle Farsi/Getty Images

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks. Photo by Michelle Farsi/Getty Images

Knicks Rumors

Grade the Trade: How Knicks could pull off deal for Trae Young

by Josh Cornelissen
Next1 of 3Prev post
Use your ← → (arrows) to browse

The New York Knicks got tricked two seasons ago. The introduction of a floor-raising coach in Tom Thibodeau helped to raise the defense high enough that Julius Randle could have a career year offensively and elevate this team to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference in 2020-21.

Then they met Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, who slammed the door on the Knicks in five games. Young was the ultimate villain, showing out in the world’s greatest arena and actively taunting the Madison Square Garden crowd. He essentially crowned himself on the Knicks’ court.

The Knicks doubled down on that season, re-signing a number of veterans from that team, including Randle. That has led to a pair of mediocre seasons, although this year the pockets of hope have started to outnumber the frustrating losing streaks. What the Knicks haven’t done is blow all of their assets on a star player, instead moving contracts around and signing Jalen Brunson in free agency. Brunson has been a great addition to the Knicks and helped to stabilize their offensive attack.

Could the New York Knicks add a former villain and pull off a deal for Trae Young?

Now it seems like the villain of New York could be coming available on the trade market. Recent reports from NBA Insider Chris Haynes suggest that Young is unhappy with certain aspects of playing in Atlanta and could demand a trade as early as this summer. What if things continue to go south for the Hawks? If Young does ask out, could the Knicks use those hoarded assets to add a player who thrives on big stages?

Let’s break down what a deal would look like and whether the Knicks would be right to pull the trigger.

Next: What the trade could look like

<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Knicks Get</div> <div class="info">Trae Young</div> <div class="info">Justin Holiday</div> <div class="info">Frank Kaminsky</div> <div class="info">Vit Krejci</div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> <div class="team b"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/07/grade-trade-knicks-pull-off-deal-trae-young/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fhawks.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Hawks Get</div> <div class="info">Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose</div> <div class="info">Quentin Grimes</div> <div class="info">Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley</div> <div class="info">3 first-round picks, 2 swaps</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>That’s a lot of players going back and forth, but the Knicks need to be able to include both young players the Hawks will covet and the matching salary, and therefore the Hawks need to send back a number of players to clear the roster spots. Cutting through some of the clutter, is this enough to get a deal done?</p> <h2>Why the Hawks would do it</h2> <p>The Atlanta Hawks depleted some of their assets to add Dejounte Murray, a deal that hasn’t allowed this team to take the next step. This move would replenish their chest of assets and then some, with a trade package of assets comparable to what the Cleveland Cavaliers sent to Utah for Donovan Mitchell.</p> <p>This deal also gives the Hawks a number of intriguing young players. Obi Toppin can be the heir apparent to John Collins at the 4, while Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes can be the bench backcourt behind Dejounte Murray and AJ Griffin. The Hawks will likely get a trade offer with a more established blue-chip star or prospect, but it’s hard to quibble with the volume the Knicks are sending out here. This might be enough for the Hawks to pull the trigger (in the event Young does demand a trade).</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/07/grade-trade-knicks-pull-off-deal-trae-young/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Would the Knicks do it? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_137530" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-137530" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/07/grade-trade-knicks-pull-off-deal-trae-young/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1245447417.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245447417.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245447417-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p> </div> <h2>Why the Knicks would do this trade</h2> <p>The New York Knicks reportedly had a chance to add an All-Star guard this summer, instead holding the line on their trade offer and watching the Cleveland Cavaliers swoop in and snag Donovan Mitchell. Since then they have watched the Cavs explode up the standings and Mitchell make an MVP-case.</p> <p>They don’t want to simply rush into a deal for the next available star player, but it makes sense for them to make a strong offer when the next one does hit the market. If that is Trae Young, the Knicks would be pursuing a player with a higher offensive pedigree than Mitchell showed in Utah, and one every bit as marketable in New York.</p> <p>Keeping Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett in the proposed deal gives the Knicks quite the nucleus to build around, and the balance between their offensive firepower and Tom Thibodeau’s defensive coaching could put the Knicks in position to have a Top-10 defense and Top-3 offense.</p> <p>It’s a lot to give up, but it doesn’t deplete the Knicks’ assets by any means, and they still have some pieces to go out and find another upgrade. This offseason they can find other depth pieces to fill in around their “Big 4” and look to make a big push next season. Trae Young is not a perfect player, but he is a very good one, and he would thrive playing in Madison Square Garden.</p> <p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="nwndaLGZBi"><p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/07/grade-trade-knicks-pull-off-deal-trae-young/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/30/3-expendable-veterans-the-new-york-knicks-can-trade-away-rose-fournier-hartenstein/">3 expendable veterans the New York Knicks can trade away</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/01/07/grade-trade-knicks-pull-off-deal-trae-young/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/12/30/3-expendable-veterans-the-new-york-knicks-can-trade-away-rose-fournier-hartenstein/embed/#?secret=nwndaLGZBi" data-secret="nwndaLGZBi" width="500" height="282" title="“3 expendable veterans the New York Knicks can trade away” — Daily Knicks" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div><!—pageview_candidate—>">