Knicks 'have been linked to' Towns, Booker?
"The Knicks own the eighth pick in the upcoming draft and likely over $50 million in cap space. However, both the 2020 draft and free agent classes are considered weak. The Knicks, are interested in Toronto’s Fred VanVleet, according to a source, but throwing a ton of money at an undersized point guard is risky.
"Otherwise, the Knicks have accumulated enough assets to try a blockbuster trade and have been linked to two players who were once represented by [Leon] Rose: Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Phoenix’s Devin Booker. However, those players, like [Donovan] Mitchell in the future, are locked up contractually by their respective teams for multiple years."
ANALYSIS: Knicks president Leon Rose used to represent Towns and Booker when he was an agent at CAA. With that said, it seems extremely unlikely that either Towns or Booker will become available via trade. Both players are under contract through the 2023-24 season and seem virtually untouchable at the moment.
The Timberwolves just landed D'Angelo Russell and the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, so they're focused on surrounding Towns with talent. The 24-year-old is coming off of a career-year in which he averaged 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 3.3 threes, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals while shoting a ridiculous 50.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. Why would Minnesota deal Towns now?
The Suns nearly made the playofs after going 8-0 in the NBA bubble, so they are entering next season with a ton of momentum (in large part because of Booker's dominance). Booker just had a terrific season, averaging 26.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 threes and 0.7 steals on 48.9/35.4/91.9 shooting splits. Why would Phoenix trade their 23-year-old star now?
The Knicks should focus on more obtainable options, like VanVleet.