There have been a lot of rumors already about what the New York Knicks could do this offseason with their roster. After being eliminated in the second round by the Indiana Pacers, some believe New York needs to make a splash. Could LeBron James be in their future?
Several veteran players have been mentioned as trade targets for the Knicks. Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Mikal Bridges and Donovan Mitchell have been linked in one way or another. Paul George could also be a target in free agency.
But, in the opinion of Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, there is one player who the Knicks could be a surprising landing spot for; LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is set to hit free agency this summer and all signs point to him making a return to the purple and gold. Should he entertain offers from other teams, Swartz believes New York is a dark horse.
“New York won’t have the cap space to sign James outright unless he took a major pay cut, which means he’d have to pick up his $51.4 million player option and convince the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him to the Knicks.
“The Knicks could build a package around Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanović and Miles McBride to get them close to James’ salary, giving the Lakers a balance of young and veteran talent back in return. They also have two first-round picks in this year’s draft, as many as four in next year’s draft and all of their own first-rounders moving forward, which they could use to sweeten their offer,” Swartz wrote.
Swartz makes note of the draft capital that the Knicks possess. That could make them a legitimate landing spot for Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft, putting the father-son duo on the same team.
New York has shown the ability to develop players in recent years and could be attractive for the USC product. If the issues between CAA and Klutch have been resolved, the Knicks make a lot of sense.
Alas, it is hard to imagine New York being real players for LeBron James. Their offseason should be focused more on getting players healthy, as they have enough in place already to be legitimate contenders. Sacrificing that many assets for LeBron James would be risky, as people forget Julius Randle is a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA performer. Adding him to the lineup would change their outlook drastically.
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