If New York Knicks Trade Carmelo Anthony It Should Be To Boston Celtics

Why Knicks Make This Deal

If the Knicks are going to trade Carmelo Anthony, it’s best to get a good and promising return. They would get just that in this deal.

In forward Jae Crowder, the Knicks get an instant replacement for Anthony, but also a gritty player. Crowder is a gritty guy who never dogs it; he dives after loose balls and plays with a passion that’s at times taken for granite.

He is also a good shooter from the outside, he can put the ball on the floor, but his most important quality is that he’s one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA. Adding a gritty player like Crowder would do wonders for a rebuilding Knicks team, and his team friendly contract only helps.

Crowder is under contract for three more years at roughly seven million a year. In this deal, though, the Knicks would also acquire the Nets first round pick, which the Celtics have the rights too.

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets have the worst record in the NBA, meaning they have the best chance to win the NBA lottery. If the Nets continue to reel, and if they trade center Brook Lopez, they’ll likely continue to free-fall, making it likely that pick will fall in the top five. Who would the Knicks select with that pick?

With point guard Derrick Rose hitting free agency this summer, the Knicks will likely let him walk due to his recent absence from a recent game and his high contract demands. That’ll put them in pursuit of a new point guard, and the NBA draft will likely offer a bevy of them.

Names who will likely declare for the draft include UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, NC State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., and Washington point guard Markelle Fultz. All three are freshman, and projected top five picks.

Any of those three guys could serve as the Knicks point of the future to pair with forward Kristaps Porzingis. In addition to acquiring Crowder and a potential top five pick, the Knicks would also acquire two expiring contracts in Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko.

The Knicks could trade both Johnson and Jerebko to a team playing for the playoffs and try to acquire a late first round, or maybe a couple early second round picks.

This deal makes a lot of sense for the Knicks, the question becomes why do the Celtics make this deal?