Fantasy trade between The Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks
Last season some guy who hopefully doesn’t get paid by Yahoo Sports wrote a fake trade column where he suggested that the Oklahoma City Thunder trade Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, and a draft pick to the New York Knicks for Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, and Raymond Felton. I don’t have to tell you why this trade is dumb and would’ve made no sense for the Thunder. I’m not sure what that guy is up to nowadays, but I can only assume he’s creating a fake trade that’ll send LeBron James to Dallas for Chandler, Felton, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
I have a slightly more realistic, but still highly unlikely Knicks and Thunder trade.
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Jose Calderon, Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr.
New York Knicks Receive: Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Kendrick Perkins, 2nd Round Pick
Why Oklahoma City Does It
OKC most likely aren’t going to pay Reggie Jackson what he wants in the offseason so they would be wise to deal him now before losing him for nothing. As much as I love Jeremy Lamb, for some reason he’s fallen out of Scott Brooks’ rotation and isn’t providing any value on the bench. And it’s pretty obvious why OKC would want to get rid of Perkins. The draft pick is just a sweetener.
In getting Calderon, Shumpert, and Hardaway Jr., the Thunder is addressing a couple of needs.
Calderon is a point guard who can actually run an offense. Russell Westbrook is an extremely dynamic player and one of the top five players in the league, but he’s not a great offensive facilitator. Westbrook would still be the starting point guard, but Calderon could come off the bench to run point, thus sliding Westbrook over to shooting guard. The Calderon/Westbrook duo would give OKC the same dynamic that Dallas had last year with Calderon and Monta Ellis.
OKC targeted Shumpert last season, but couldn’t work a deal out to get him. He’s an athletic defender who can hit open jumpers. A defensive tandem of Andre Roberson and Shumpert could cause any NBA backcourt a lot of trouble during stretches of a game.
Hardaway Jr. is probably a guy that Brooks won’t play often because he’s a weirdo, but he’s an extremely reliable shooter, especially from three. With him and Anthony Morrow on the court at the same time, OKC could space the floor and force teams to guard Westbrook or Kevin Durant one-on-one or leave Morrow and Hardaway Jr. open for a great look.
Calderon and Hardaway Jr. are on three year deals that pay them $7 million and $1.2 million respectively, which means OKC would have them on good contracts before having to re-negotiate. Shumpert could be a free agent at the end of the year, but he’s not going to break the bank should OKC choose to re-sign him,
Why New York Does It
The Knicks aren’t going anywhere this season, so they may as well look towards the future. Calderon is 33-years-old and most likely isn’t a part of the Knicks long term plans, the team appears to have soured on Shumpert following his injury, and Hardaway Jr. and Carmelo Anthony don’t seem to be on the best of terms.
Reggie Jackson is the best player in the trade and if you believe that getting the best player means that you “win” the trade then the Knicks win this trade. Jackson is a dynamic scorer and the Knicks need all the scoring help they can get. They’ll have to pay Jackson after this season, but they’ll have plenty of money to do so.
With Shumpert gone, Lamb can slide into his starting spot or be the sixth man off the bench if you’re someone who loves J.R. Smith. Although he hasn’t played much, every time he’s on the court for OKC he finds a way to contribute. He’s become a bit inconsistent with his shooting, but it’s tough to be consistent when you’re playing 15 minutes one game and one minute in the next. Lamb has the talent to be a good player, he just needs the run. New York would provide him with that run.
Perkins is a throw in to make the money work. He’s not going to make the Knicks any better, but that’s not the goal for the Knicks this season. Perkins is on an expiring deal, which is why the Knicks want him. After this season they’ll lose Perkins, Amare Stoudamire, and Andrea Bargnani. That’s $44 million in cap space that becomes free. While they’ll have to pay Reggie Jackson part of that, they’ll still have plenty of cash to target upcoming free agents.
The second round pick is very valuable here because it’s most likely going to be a mid-second round pick given how poorly the Thunder started the season and how much ground they have to make up on the rest of the league. The Knicks could keep the pick and try to hit on second round draft pick or they could combine the OKC second rounder with their second rounder and move back into the first round, where they’ll already have a top five pick. Essentially the Knicks could have two first round picks in the 2015 draft to help set them up for the future.
Why This Trade Won’t Happen
Phil Jackson is making front office decisions and not on court decisions.
Why This Trade Will Happen
I fell asleep.
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