The New York Knicks appear ready to pounce when it comes to potentially adding a star if a player like Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers becomes available on the trade market. They are also reportedly monitoring two others: Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Post noted that the Knicks may be holding onto veteran wing Evan Fournier in order to potentially use his contract as part of a trade package for one of the aforementioned players.
“The Knicks are monitoring three targets, in particular, a source said: Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell,” wrote Bondy.
Mitchell being linked to New York is nothing new. A few months back, a report indicated that the Knicks could pursue him again in the future.
Last year, the Cavs outbid New York, getting the Utah Jazz to agree to send Mitchell to Cleveland despite some people within the Knicks organization reportedly believing it had a better package. Ultimately, Cleveland’s package of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji and a plethora of draft capital got the job done.
The Knicks, however, may have given the four-time All-Star some reasons to contemplate his future in Cleveland after they eliminated his squad in the 2023 playoffs.
Even so, it’s difficult to imagine the Cavs shipping their star guard away while he’s under club control, even if things go south for them this season.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves are entering the second year of their experiment with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. The last campaign saw their hopes of making some noise with the big lineup take a hit due in part to injuries.
With the keys to the franchise seemingly being handed over to rising star Anthony Edwards, Minnesota could look to retool its roster if it struggles to field a winning squad in the early stages of the 2023-24 campaign.
As for Embiid, he may be a pipe dream for the Knicks because the Philadelphia 76ers look committed to building the roster around the reigning MVP. But with James Harden drama plaguing the organization, perhaps Embiid would consider requesting a trade from the team that he has been a part of since 2014.
