Knicks Receive: Darren Collison & A Future Draft Pick
Clippers Receive: Iman Shumpert, Raymond FeltonÂ
The Knicks are in trade rumors every year. The media pressures the Knicks front office to make decisions every season whether they make sense or not. They don’t usually go through, but this year the Knicks need a change. And they need it now.
Raymond Felton has been one of the worst rated point guards in the NBA this season. We all saw what Carmelo Anthony is capable of when he lined up three after three in the NBA All-Star game, playing with All-Star point guards Kyrie Irving and John Wall.
If the Knicks want to have any chance of saving this season, they need to make a trade for a point guard. Darren Collison’s name has began to swirl around the rumor mill and this trade makes a lot of sense for both teams. Collison has done a decent job backing up All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who has been out due to injuries for a significant part of the season. Collison is a leader (which is most important – someone needs to check Melo and the rest of the Knicks players occasionally), he can create off of the dribble, he is a decent shooter and most importantly can get the Knicks offense moving. It is a stretch to say that Collison will step right onto this Knicks team and demand any level of play or accountability from this Knicks roster, but any other available back up point guard is an upgrade at this point.
The Clippers could use an upgrade at the 2 spot. Iman Shumpert has been struggling as well and he might benefit from a change of scenery. Heading to a contender and playing alongside leaders like Paul and under the guidance of Doc Rivers would be beneficial to his career. The Clippers would benefit as well as they would add two valuable players to an already loaded roster. This deal would make sense for both teams.
I wanted to place Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors in this potential deal, but the Raptors are reluctant to trade one of their most valuable assets. We also have to take into consideration the surprise success that Toronto has been having in the terrible Eastern Conference, so they will more than likely try to keep their current roster in place. They wouldn’t want to trade their starting point guard to an Atlantic Division foe in the Knicks either.
