Getty Portland Path Blazers ahead Robert Covington reacts throughout a sport towards the New York Knicks.
As ever, the New York Knicks are stated to have an curiosity in a number of the high commerce targets across the Affiliation. Whether or not the workforce really has avenues towards buying them or not, gamers like Damian Lillard, Ben Simmons and Jerami Grant have all been floated as potential targets.
With the NBA commerce deadline looming, although, there’s an opportunity that the workforce will as a substitute decide to work within the margins. For his half, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported that New York “seems extra prone to tinker around the edges than swing for such a difference-maker.”
That stated, the Knicks may nonetheless procure a chunk to assist them re-energize their efforts on the courtroom this season, even when that piece lacks marquee identify worth.
In a B/R piece pitching commerce concepts for the “Biggest Buyers and Sellers” on the deadline, Dan Favale put out a hypothetical commerce that might see the Knicks add a two-way expertise who could be the league’s prototypical function participant.
Favale: Knicks Might Purchase Robert Covington
As Favale factors out, the Path Blazers presently discover themselves in an odd spot. They’ve wildly underperformed, however until he asks out of Portland, they’re not transferring Lillard and fascinating in a full-on rebuild.
Furthermore, the workforce might be in a holding sample the place making main strikes is anxious as an interim GM is presently calling the pictures. Alternatively, the time is nigh for the workforce to shed cash and keep away from the luxurious tax, if attainable.
As a part of that effort, Favale has proposed the next commerce with the Knicks:
- Blazers get: Nerlens Noel, New York’s 2022 second-round choose (top-44 safety)
- Knicks get: Robert Covington
The place the Blazers are involved, a Covington-Noel swap would get the workforce out of the tax. In the meantime, Noel’s rim safety may very well be a fantastic match for a membership attempting to institute a defensive method underneath first-year coach Chauncey Billups. Nonetheless, the Knicks would get one thing out of the transfer, too.
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RoCo Might Fill the Reggie Bullock Function
Though the Knicks have been ready to usher in free brokers like Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and re-sign a few of their key contributors to multi-year offers, the membership was nonetheless shaken by Reggie Bullock’s departure. In spite of everything, the veteran wing was an enormous a part of the workforce’s playoff run final season.
Beginning in 64 of his 65 appearances, Bullock put up 10.9 factors and three.4 rebounds per contest whereas nailing 41% of his triples. He additionally served as a pleasant complement to All-Star huge man Reggie Bullock within the first 5.
Because it stands, the Knicks haven’t actually discovered a participant who can present all the identical issues that he did. Covington may very well be that man, although.
From a bodily standpoint, the 2 gamers are eerily comparable. And Covington is a profession 11.7-point scorer and a 36% three-point shooter. He’s additionally a robust, instinctual defender with a superb sense of timing and a knack for being in the proper spot. In different phrases, he’s a participant who may actually win Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau over.
This specific deal would value the Knicks a stable contributor in Noel however, as Favale notes, “The Knicks can survive. They’ve about-to-be-paid Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson and will experiment extra with Julius Randle-Obi Toppin lineups.”
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Source: Heavy
