Shocking trading news unfolds for 4 Knicks

The rotation of the New York Knicks has undergone some major changes during the 2022-2023 NBA season. Despite being just past the quarter mark of the season, the Knicks have already used nine different players in the starting lineup for multiple games.

The most recent change was that Tom Thibodeau reduced his rotation to just nine players. Deuce McBride was placed in the rotation coming off the bench with Isaiah Hartenstein, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin. To make room for him, Thibodeau decided to remove veteran Derrick Rose and winger Cam Reddish.

It’s a move that left many people scratching their heads as Reddish has performed well this season, especially as a starter with longer minutes. His inconsistent engine is probably a big reason why, as Reddish looks great one night but lackluster the next. Rose’s problems reportedly stem from leadership issues as he is not filling that role to the team’s liking.

Whatever the reason behind the change, it has paid off so far. New York put up two outstanding games, especially on the defensive end of the field, with 81 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then 89 points against the Atlanta Hawks.

LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: New York Knicks Updates

Of course, whenever a lineup is changed, trading rumors involving those players start swirling. The Knicks have a lot of assets to make a blockbuster, but their number 1 goal for the rest of the season should be consolidating the roster.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, that process has already begun. Leon Rose, Scott Perry and William Wesley worked on the phones and four players were discussed. Unsurprisingly, three are off the rotation in Rose, Reddish and Evan Fournier. The fourth will surprise people because it’s Quickley.

“Now the Knicks are already on the phone. League sources said the most common players they’ve discussed with other teams are, in no particular order: Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier, Rose and Reddish. They made calls on Fournier leading up to last winter’s trade deadline and then again during the summer. He still has two seasons left, including this season, and hasn’t touched the track in three weeks. But it’s not like they’re desperate to get him out of town.”

LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: New York Knicks Updates

Quickley has been discussed, but he’s not one to actively shop New York. His name was mostly brought up as a sweetener to get rid of someone like Fournier. However, it wouldn’t make sense to plug in assets to move Fournier right now.

If they keep him in the 2023 off-season, he could be used as an expiring contract, with the 2024-25 season being a team option. But if there is a team that has an unwanted contract, the Knicks can trade Fournier for that player, as long as there is an asset attached to it.

It looks like Rose is the most likely player to move as he has been replaced by Quickley as the lead point guard in the second unit and McBride is now getting his minutes. Reddish hasn’t found the expanded role he was hoping for when he filed for a trade with the Atlanta Hawks last year and would likely be open to another change of scenery.

LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: New York Knicks Updates

December 15 marks the unofficial start of the NBA trading season, with many of the players who have signed free agent deals becoming eligible to be traded. Expect to hear a lot of rumors about the Knicks between then and the February deadline, as this is a team that needs to make at least one trade.