The New York Knicks are open to trading Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, Evan Fournier, and Derrick Rose. Changes seem to be on the way.
Many reports have stated that the New York Knicks are open to moving some of their players. As of recent, Fred Katz of The Athletic reported that the Knicks are willing to part ways with Evan Fournier, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, and Derrick Rose.
With this information, it is a lot to digest. So, let’s analyze each player and try to make sense of it all.
Evan Fournier
When the Knicks signed Evan Fournier last season, it made a lot of sense. The team tried to add more playmaking and shot creation on offense, so New York signed Fournier and Kemba Walker. Unfortunately, both signings did not work because neither player provided consistent offense or defense.
As we all know, Kemba was traded to the Detroit Pistons, waived, and recently acquired by the Dallas Mavericks. As for Fournier, he also finds himself on the outside looking in.
Fournier was benched weeks ago, and rightfully so, because the Knicks should focus on developing their younger players. The veteran shooter was also inconsistent on offense and provided little to no defense.
Fournier’s offensive struggles are due to Tom Thibodeau’s inability to run a sound offense. And because of Thibs’ lack of offensive creativity, Fournier’s skill set— three-level scoring, shot creation, and playmaking — has not been on display. New York’s offense is driven by isolation basketball, which is why they currently rank 11th in the NBA in isolation frequency. Fournier is best used in an offense that shares the ball and relies on everyone to have their touches, and if there is anything we’ve witnessed, the Knicks’ starting unit does not do that.
At the same time, while Thibodeau is partially at fault for Evan’s lack of success, Evan has not helped his situation either. While Fournier did break New York’s single-season three-point field goal record last season, he’s been an inconsistent shooter. There were nights when Fournier went 8 for 10 from three and followed that up with a 1 for 7 performance. When you have a player like that, it makes him expendable even though this team needs shooting. Since his offense is inconsistent and his defense is consistently horrific, Fournier is an easy decision to remove from the rotation.
Fournier would’ve made sense coming off the bench, but this team has been too inconsistent, and it is difficult seeing the Knicks making a deep playoff run so that Fournier would be better off elsewhere.
As Fred reported, it is difficult for the Knicks to trade Fournier, but it is not impossible. As I’ve said on previous shows, a team like the Milwaukee Bucks could use Fournier’s services because they need more three-point shooting. On top of that, a team will need Fournier to have depth in case of injury.
The theory of Fournier adding playmaking and shooting for the Knicks after a fantastic fourth-seed appearance was great, but the execution was terrible.
Immanuel Quickley
Before Fred’s recent report, Sham Charania did report a few weeks back that New York is open to trading Immanuel Quickley. And as Katz reaffirms, the Knicks would like to receive a first-round pick in a trade for Quickley.
Now, I understand the front office’s thought process to a certain degree. The Knicks cannot extend all their draft picks, and they’re looking to reset their rookie scale contracts. This would make sense if the Knicks were a playoff team that could make deep playoff runs. But that is not the case, considering New York is still a rebuilding team.
So, it makes sense for them to continue to roll with their younger players (particularly on rookie contracts) and continue to develop the talent they acquire through the draft.
Currently, the Knicks have 11 first-round draft picks from now until 2029. If New York traded Immanuel Quickley in return for a first-round pick, the Knicks would have 12 in total. The organization will hope that the player they draft in 2023 can be at least just as good as Quickley, so that is where the front office’s thought process doesn’t make sense.
On top of that, as much as Quickley is a fan favorite, what protections on the first-round pick would New York receive? It would be unlikely for the Knicks to get an unprotected first-round pick in return for IQ, and we’ve already seen that highly protected picks are not that valuable. Now, that could all change if a playoff team trades for Quickley because the probability of them being in the lottery would be slim, but that only reinforces the value of the pick.
And some of you will say: Alex, Quickley and Quentin Grimes were drafted in the 20s of the first round. Also, Jericho Sims, Rokas Jokubaitis, and Miles McBride were all drafted in the second round. The Knicks could strike again!
Yeah, I hear you on that, and I like the front office’s scouting department. But the draft is a bigger crapshoot as teams go later into the draft.
But if I must be honest, I’m not greatly upset at the idea of trading Quickley, especially if the Knicks can acquire: (1) a player of similar value, (2) someone on the first or second year of their rookie contract, or (3) a draft asset of great value. However, here are my reasons I am disappointed in the idea of trading IQ:
- The Knicks could’ve probably included Quickley in a deal to get Donovan Mitchell if they included a lot of draft picks (I wasn’t feeling trading RJ at the time or a lot of the younger players on the team. I would’ve been cool if they included four draft picks to get the deal done.)
- The Knicks are willing to attach Quickley – or Cam Reddish – to Evan Fournier to make a trade work (h/t Fred Katz). However, trading either player to move Fournier is backward because the Knicks would be moving young talent to shed a contract.
- Part of me believes Quickley has been involved in trade discussions because his camp hasn’t been pleased with his role on the Knicks (here is Ian Begley from SNY last season noting Quickley’s camp’s displeasure with his role, and Jide Sodipo throwing shots at Tom Thibodeau).
- The Knicks front office appears to be pushing to be a playoff team rather than developing their talent. Considering, this team should be rebuilding with the players they drafted.
New York’s front office’s thought process to trade Quickley continues to show the mismanagement of this roster.
Cam Reddish
Prior to the start of the season (and even recently), I had Cam as the odd man out of the rotation. My thought process was that Cam hadn’t shown enough tape where he was consistent enough to be in a rotation (whether that was with the Atlanta Hawks or New York). In addition, Thibs was not thrilled when the front office pulled the trigger to trade for Cam. Also, Thibs loves his veteran players, and I thought Fournier would supplant Reddish for a rotation spot.
However, Cam got minutes because of Quentin Grimes’ injury to begin the season. In those minutes, Cam demonstrated consistency on defense and some flashes of offense. And, understandably, Cam showed only flashes on offense because he was still trying to figure out his role on this team.
But after a recent defensive flop against the Mavs this past Saturday, Thibs thought it was right to pull Reddish from the rotation against the Cleveland Cavaliers this past Sunday.
Now, Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News reported on Wednesday the Knicks and Cam’s representatives are working together to facilitate a trade. And as I noted in the Quickley paragraph, the Knicks are open to attaching Quickley or Reddish to Fournier to move Fournier’s contract.
Did these trade talks about Cam begin after he was pulled from the rotation, or did they come from his camp’s frustration with his undefined role on the team (remember Berman’s earlier report)? That is unclear.
Trading Reddish without creating a real opportunity for him doesn’t make sense. New York could use a player like Cam because no other player has his archetype – a 6’8″ wing, athletic, can guard multiple positions, and is a capable scorer.
Now, we know that Cam has had intrigue since he’s arrived in New York. Ian Begley noted Reddish has received interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Anegles Lakers, and Miami Heat. It would make sense if New York could get a similar trade package that they gave up Reddish. As a recap, New York traded Kevin Knox (who they would not resign), a top-18 protected first-round pick from the Charlotte Hornets, and a 2025 second-round pick (via Brooklyn Nets). In return, the Knicks got Cam and Solomon Hill (who they cut).
But that is unlikely because the Knicks haven’t played Cam enough to raise his value. Also, benching him may hurt his stock.
The mismanagement of Reddish on this team shows the disconnect between the front office and Tom Thibodeau. Yes, we can blame Thibs for not giving Reddish enough minutes and holding players equally accountable. But the blame goes back to the front office for acquiring a player that the head coach was not on board getting because the roster already has so many logjams.
Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose had an opportunity that few players in the NBA get, and that’s redeeming themselves in a second stint with a team. And I am confident in saying that Derrick Rose’s second tenure with the Knicks will forever be viewed in a positive light because he was a catalyst for the team to make the fourth seed during the 2020-2021 NBA season. On top of that, he was the leader of one of the most efficient second units in the league.
If you’ve tuned into any KFTV show, you know I believe Derrick Rose should be kept because we need a point guard to organize the second unit. However, while I have stressed D-Rose’s importance to the second unit, I have also expressed that I understand going with the youth movement. That means giving Miles McBride a chance to crack the rotation or even promoting Immanuel Quickley to official lead guard off the bench.
According to Katz’s report, there isn’t a market for Derrick Rose. However, I would expect teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors, or Miami Heat to make a call for Rose. Those rosters could use another point guard off the bench, especially since those teams are trying to make the playoffs. Here are my reasons:
- Mavericks: Recently, Ric Bucher of Fox Sports noted the Mavericks are interested in Derrick Rose, even after signing Kemba Walker. That is because General Manager Nico Harrison admitted on The Ticket (a Dallas Radio station) that Walker’s knee is not good — h/t CBS Sports. So, it makes sense that they want depth.
- Raptors: Fred VanVleet is currently the only reliable point guard that Toronto has, and even he has been struggling to score as of late. Sure, they have Malachi Flynn, but he isn’t playing enough minutes and doesn’t seem to be a reliable option as a backup guard.
- Heat: They are relying on Gabe Vincent, who is an acceptable backup point guard option. But the Heat are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs (potentially an NBA Finals appearance), and they’ll need another guard outside of Kyle Lowry – he’s on the decline – to keep their deep playoff hopes alive.
December 15th can get here soon enough to see what changes are ahead for this Knicks roster. The Knicks need to consolidate this roster and select which direction this team should go – develop the youth or be a competitive playoff team. Hopefully, the lasting effects are not damaging enough that the Knicks will end up back to square one.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out the analysis and fan reactions from when the Knicks played the Clevland Cavaliers!
