A new rumor about a potential New York Knicks target in NBA free agency has opened the door to speculation of a potential major trade on the horizon.
This will be a very interesting next few weeks for the New York Knicks. While the team does not have a first-round pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, there have been rumblings the organization is open to the idea of trading into the first 30 picks this week.
Related: Top 2023 NBA free agents – Best 100 available with positional breakdowns
Then next week brings the start of NBA free agency. Another avenue they will have to improve a roster that performed far better than expected in 2022-2023. The Knicks don’t have a huge amount of cap space, but they are still expected to test the market for potential additions.
Furthermore, they have the assets on the roster, or in the future that could mean trades are certainly possible.
It all means that every option to make changes to the roster is open to the New York Knicks this summer. However, a new rumor suggests the team could be plotting a move in NBA free agency that would be made to fill a roster spot opened up by a notable trade.
New York Knicks could target Naz Reid in NBA free agency
In a recent mailbag column, New York Knicks insider Ian Begley reported that Minnesota Timberwolves free agent Naz Reid has a “significant amount of fans within the organization.” The 23-year-old native of New Jersey is a solid big man that has shown a lot of potential after averaging over 11 points and five rebounds in just over 18 minutes last season.
However, New York doesn’t have a need at center. They gave Mitchell Robinson a massive extension last summer, signed Isaiah Hartenstein last year — and he delivered big time off the bench this past season — and they still have Jericho Sims on the roster.
If they are potentially eyeing up Reid in NBA free agency, it would definitely mean one of their three centers is headed out either for a first-round pick on Thursday or for an impact player elsewhere. Maybe Reid could be used in a sign-and-trade with Minnesota in a long-rumored blockbuster for another Tri-State native in Karl-Anthony Towns.