Ever since the Knicks traded Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett for OG Anunoby, New York’s rotation has been bereft of creation outside of Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, burdening the two with additional usage and minutes.
Despite the overall strong play, it’s not a tenable long-term setup, as New York will need a third option that can break defenses down come the postseason.
Here are five guard upgrades the Knicks should look at acquiring before the trade deadline.
Brogdon was the man who beat Quickley out of the Sixth Man of the Year award last season, making him a natural choice to replace that production in this Knicks lineup. He’s currently putting up 14.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 45 percent shooting on twos and 41.3 percent shooting on threes in Portland.
The Blazers sit at 10-26, bottom five in the league after trading their star player — Damian Lillard — this offseason. They should be interested in offloading Brogdon, a veteran signed through 2025, to a more competitive team in exchange for draft capital.
If New York can nab him for one of their protected picks and salary filler, he’d be a major boost off the bench, and could even close some games depending on how he performs.
Another lottery team likely to salvage assets out of their roster is the 6-31 Washington Wizards, with Jones being a prime candidate. He’s in the final year of his contract, so he wouldn’t be too expensive for the Knicks, and the starter life on his current team doesn’t seem preferable to playing winning basketball off the bench.
Jones is much more efficient from inside the arc than Brogdon, and his defense will make him a Tom Thibodeau favorite. His current averages are 12.6 points and 5.5 assists on 58.1 percent shooting from two and 43.1 percent from three, and New York should absolutely swing for him if available.
Spencer Dinwiddie
The Knicks were once reportedly interested in Dinwiddie, a veteran combo guard roughing it through a down shooting year in Brooklyn. He’s at 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists a game, and has started every night, but is only hitting 31.8 percent of his threes.
His clip from deep has wobbled throughout his career, though he shined when he was with Dallas where he shot 40 percent. Given the responsibilities he’d been handed in Brooklyn and Washington, he could look much better coming off the bench in New York.
He also shouldn’t be an expensive trade piece either. Dinwiddie is also on an expiring contract and the Knicks should be able to snatch him up via Evan Fournier and a whatever pick.
Getting into the scarier options available, Rozier has been quietly balling on a struggling Charlotte team. He’s notching new career highs across the board: 24.3 points, seven assists a game on 52.6 percent shooting from two.
He’s also a 37.2 percent three-point shooter over his last seven seasons and has undoubtedly been starter-quality. Having that kind of impact off the bench for New York would be huge.
New York might have to give up some actual draft capital here, with multiple years left on his deal and multiple teams likely lining up for his services. Still, it could be worth it if he’s ready to accept a bench role in pursuit of a championship.
The Knicks’ and league’s biggest potential get between now and the trade deadline appears to be Murray, Atlanta’s running mate next to Trae Young. The pairing hasn’t seen much success in two seasons, and the Hawks may look to restructure around other core names.
Murray is unlike the other names on this list, as he won’t settle into a bench role and would come with an Anunoby-esque All-Star cost. For good reason: Murray averages 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and five assists on 50.5 percent shooting from two and 39.4 percent from three this season.
Despite his recent regression on that end, he has a lot of defensive upside, hence why Atlanta thought he’d be a good fit next to their defensively-lacking flamethrower at the one.
Would the result be any better in New York? That’s a risk their front office will have to weigh, but if they pass on it there are plenty of less disruptive options to pursue.
