The New York Knicks are coming off one of their most impressive seasons in almost 25 years, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. However, it wasn’t enough to save head coach Tom Thibodeau’s job, and the Knicks felt they needed a new voice in the room.
Mike Brown was hired as the new head honcho in New York, and that’s the only major change that the Knicks made in the offseason. The roster, outside a handful of free agent acquisitions, remains the same at the top.
Should that be the case, though? Maybe New York falling in six games to the Indiana Pacers wasn’t just on Thibodeau, and some of the players should take that blame. If the Knicks really want to maximize their championship window with Jalen Brunson, they should shake up the starting rotation, and that’s exactly what this trade proposal from Sports Illustrated provides.
Memphis Grizzlies receive: PF OG Anunoby and two first-round picks
New York Knicks receive: C Jaren Jackson Jr.
“The trade proposal swaps starting big-men for the two teams. The Knicks could send a bench player and one first-rounder to Memphis instead of two first-round choices.” Wrote Dave Holcomb.
While Anunoby has been a great player for New York since acquiring him from the Toronto Raptors, a player of Jackson Jr.’s caliber would be a perfect complement to this current roster. Incumbent center Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best scoring centers in the league, but his defense was a liability for New York in the postseason.
Towns was most effective in the playoffs when he was playing power forward alongside Mitchell Robinson at center. While Robinson is an elite offensive rebounder and great defender, he isn’t the former Defensive Player of the Year winner that Jackson Jr. is.
Boasting a starting lineup of Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, Towns, and Jackson Jr. would make New York the easy favorite in the Eastern Conference, and possibly give them a better chance of cracking the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
