The New York Knicks find themselves as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the NBA Playoffs this coming weekend.
Led by Jalen Brunson, these Knicks look to be legitimate conference title contenders. The question here is whether New York can overcome the juggernaut that are the Boston Celtics.
Regardless, we expect front office head Leon Rose and Co. to be pretty active during the summer. They have the assets and draft picks to pull off a blockbuster move.
One NBA general manager is pointing in the direction of Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis as a potential target for the Knicks.
“There’s really one team that fits all of those, and that’s the Knicks. It would not be hard to make a deal work there. You can line up the salaries. You can package a ton of picks. You can throw in a young player. You can take on a salary the Lakers might not want. I mean, he is one player and you can get a huge haul here.”
Unnamed NBA general manager on New York Knicks and Anthony Davis, via Heavy.com
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Los Angeles’ willingness to trade AD will depend heavily on what teammate LeBron James does this summer. James is going to opt out of his contract and could very well test NBA free agency. If so, the Lakers would likely find themselves starting anew with a rebuild. That would include a potential Davis trade.
- Anthony Davis stats (2023-24): 24.7 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 55.6% shooting
The 31-year-old Davis is under contract through the 2024-25 season. He’s set to count $43.22 million against the cap next year. There are very few teams that could take on that type of salary short of forcing the Lakers to add big-time contracts themselves.
The Knicks are one team that could offer up a package of young players and first-round picks to nab Davis from the Lakers. New York has up to 11 first-round picks through the 2030 NBA Draft. Again, it has the assets to make a move of this ilk.