New York Knicks: It is time for the Knicks to trade Frank Ntilikina

It has been a year and a half since the New York Knicks took Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Yet, we still have yet to see anything out of him. It’s time to trade the young guard.

When the New York Knicks took Frank Ntilikina with their eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, everyone was confused.

With players such as Dennis Smith, Malik Monk and Donovan Mitchell still on the board, everyone was left asking “Why Ntilikina?”

The Knicks saw something in Ntilikina that no one else did.

He was a 6’2″ guard who averaged only 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in the European League.

But the Knicks decided on Ntilikina and Knicks fans were hoping he would turn into a diamond in the rough just like Kristaps Porzingis did.

Unfortunately, he did not and we have now seen him play for a year and a half, and in that year and a half he is averaging (at the time of this writing) 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game in about 22 minutes per game.

Not ideal at all.

Ntilikina can’t get anything done on the offensive end, but he is a great defensive presence.

However, in this league, you can’t get away with playing one side of the ball and not the other unless your name is James Harden.

There are plenty of players out there who can play both sides of the ball and if Ntilikina can’t, then the Knicks need to do something with him.

Now, the Knicks are in a rebuilding process so if they do end up trading Ntilikina it would likely be for a couple of picks.

There is no need to trade someone like Frank Ntilikina for an older player who may or may not make an impact.

One of the teams who was said to have interest in acquiring Ntilikina was the Phoenix Suns:

Now, this was three weeks ago and a lot can change in three weeks, but this could still be a great option for the Knicks.

If the Knicks could create a package to somehow convince Phoenix to give up their first rounder for 2019, it could be huge for the Knicks.

The Suns are one of the worst teams in the league as they are tied for the second worst record in the league at 8-24.

This being said, they are almost guaranteed to have a top three to five pick this upcoming season.

With this, the Knicks would then have a top three to five pick courtesy of the Suns, as well as their top pick which could very well be in the top five as well.

Not only do the Suns have their own pick, but they also have the Bucks’ first round pick.

This being said, it may be a bit easier to get one of these off their hands.

Now, it would take a great deal of convincing and a pretty great package to get a first rounder, seeing Ntilikina is currently not worth a first round pick, but it can be done.

Whether the Knicks trade him to the Suns or somewhere else, something needs to be done with the failed experiment that is Frank Ntilikina.