Evaluating Knicks’ Trade Routes for Acquiring Jaylen Brown
Evaluating Knicks’ Trade Routes for Acquiring Jaylen Brown, read more …
Do you bring it back for next year if you’re Leon Rose, president of the New York Knicks?
How confident are you that players like RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Mitchell Robinson, etc., can be in assisting your development?
Do you think that with a full season of Josh Hart and some development from within, your youthful team can advance past the second round?
Or, you may deal some of your promising up-and-comers and future picks in exchange for an experienced superstar.
There may be a slew of superstars available for trade this year. People like Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard, Zion Williamson, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, etc.
As of this Friday, a maximum of eight first-round selections can be included in a deal. You’ve saved enough in the draft to make a strong bid. The market value of your young players has increased since last summer.
This includes Barrett, Grimes, Quickley, and Robinson. That allows you to assemble an attractive trade package for a star player.
Therefore, during the following two weeks, we will analyze the specifics of proposed deals for star players.
Embiid, Lillard, and others will be discussed when we finish with Towns, Williamson, and Bradley Beal (who appears to be leaving for the Phoenix Suns).
We analyze the numbers, potential outcomes, and consequences of a Brown deal to the Knicks today:
What would it take for the Knicks to make a deal? Next year, Brown will earn $32 million. The league mandates that the Knicks disperse at least $25 million in order to make a trade.
They have a few options for doing so (one of our scenarios assumes that New York exercises its team option on Miles McBride on June 29 in the absence of a trade for him).
New York will have to fork over an extra $8 million in the transaction if Boston wants to include Evan Fournier in their package.
Fournier, Toppin, Jericho Sims, and a number of first-round picks may be a good package. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, when Fournier’s contract is up, Boston would be able to save money by not paying him.
It would make sense for the Knicks to offer Barrett, Quickley, and a draft pick to the Celtics if they want to acquire him.
It’s also important to remember that in 2023-24, Grimes will be making $2.4 million with the Knicks. New York, I imagine, would do anything it could to prevent a deal including Grimes (and Quickley).
It stands to reason that any serious suitor for New York would want the inclusion of Grimes and/or Quickley in any deal. Salary-wise, it’s not hard to factor in $2.4 million for Grimes as part of a $25 million outlay.
The Knicks can certainly offer more than $25 million to acquire Brown in a trade. However, we can presume that Boston would like to retain less pay in order to increase its adaptability and prevent any punitive measures from being included in the next CBA.
**We are not making any judgments about whether or not it is a good idea to trade these guys for Brown; we are merely outlining the necessary logistics.
I don’t see why he’d be moved. This season, Brown was selected to an All-NBA squad. This offseason, he can seek a “supermax” contract because of that. The deal is worth $290 million to Brown over the next five years.
Next summer, Jayson Tatum can potentially sign a supermax contract. His new deal is worth a total of $318 million. Boston must now decide whether to give Brown and Tatum $600 million to remain together or to break up the tandem.
In the Brown-Tatum era, the Celtics have achieved unprecedented levels of success. They have made it to the NBA Finals four times, three times as the Eastern Conference champions, and once as the overall best team in the league.
The deal for Marcus Smart, though, is a clear indication from upper management that things were not improving. Does that suggest Boston is looking to end things between Brown and Tatum? If I had to speculate, I’d say no.
This summer is the most likely time for Brown to sign the supermax extension. 11 of the 12 players offered the supermax contract have accepted it, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out in his crucial offseason guide.
It should be simple for Boston to move Brown if things go south or if Brown and the Celtics decide to make a course correction in the future (*Brown would not be eligible to be dealt during the 2023-24 season if he signs the supermax extension).
Brown’s decision to go against the grain and reject the supermax extension would cause concern in Boston. Then it would be obvious that Brown is unhappy in Boston. So, it stands to reason that the Celtics would try to get the most value possible for Brown in a deal.
Would trading Brown prevent the Knicks from acquiring other players?
Yes. After trading Brown, the Knicks could use one of the midlevel exceptions, depending on the nature of the deal and subsequent transactions
. In order to have a means to get additional free agents. But in the long run, they risk being disabled. It stands to reason that if the Knicks acquire Brown through a trade, they will offer him a new, long-term contract.
The Knicks could be in a tight spot financially with Brown and other high-priced players on the roster. Teams who spend more than allowed by the new CBA will face penalties beginning in the 2024–25 season.
Just some food for thought as you go through the summer moves the Knicks should (or should not) make.
