Jonathan Marci of the Knicks Film School reported in his Free Agent Frenzy newsletter that Julius Randle and Kevin Knox would be the center of an exchange that would send them to the Oklahoma City Thunder and bring Chris Paul to the New York Knicks.
“According to several sources familiar with Knicks thinking, New York is preparing initial offerings to potentially bring the dot god to Mecca. Julius Randle and Kevin Knox are two names I hear are involved in internal discussions. I’ve also been told that Paul’s preference will affect his final destination, and his connection with Leon Rose is a factor. “
This isn’t the only time rumors of Paul have been reported to the Knicks, as Scoop Robinson recently tweeted that the Knicks were interested in bringing Paul to New York. SYN’s Ian Begley reported that the Knicks believe Paul would be able to “reboot” the franchise with a young core around him.
As for Randle and Knox, Randle just entered into the first of a three-year deal with the Knicks where they wanted him to be the primary scoring option. It was quickly proved that it couldn’t be the no. 1 option on a playoff team.
As for Knox, he hasn’t had the best season since his rookie year, but a lot of that is down to the fact that the Knicks coaching staff refused to play their young core for many minutes despite accumulating setbacks after setbacks.
Marci also reported that the Knicks are not interested in moving too valuable pieces like RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, first-round picks, etc. Leaving Knox and Randle as the next best option. Marci also put the chances of Paul ending up in New York at “less than 50 percent”.
Even though the Knicks recently hired former Kentucky Wildcats manager Kenny Payne, it doesn’t look like Randle and Knox are going to hang around too long.
However, unless they are involved in the exchange, the OKC roster could include SGA, Knox, Randle, Hamidou Diallo and Nerlens Noel next season which would be fun to watch.