It was reported last week that the San Antonio Spurs are interested in potentially trading Evan Fournier to give their new rookie, Victor Webanyama, a French teammate and veteran mentor. And it makes a lot of sense for the Knicks that they could offload Fournier’s contract and say goodbye to a disgruntled player who currently has no role on the team while he does. Spurs should send back a player whose contract is close to Fournier’s.
He is currently making $13.7 million and given how often and how long he is said to be on the trading block, he could be the perfect candidate to facilitate a Fournier deal. But how does McDermott fit into the Knicks? The short answer is pretty good. Because as we all know, the skillset the Knicks need most right now is shooting, and this seems to be McDermott’s calling card. Now, Creighton’s product has some weaknesses. He has missed a few games lately, playing just 51 games in the 21-22 season and just 64 games last season. And McDermott, while not a horrendous defender, has also never been known to be a good defender. That said, with what his role in New York would likely be, these are both flaws the Knicks can very well live with.
McDermott doesn’t possess the athleticism of Obi Toppin, or the defensive skills of Isaiah Roby, or the rebounding skills of recently signed Nathan Knight, but the Knicks showed all season that those were all things they didn’t need much of more . When he was healthy and stranded in New York he consistently boasted a top 10 defense while being one of the best rebounding teams in the league. The one thing that remained an x-factor during the regular season, and the one thing that ultimately stood in the way of their potential advancement to the Conference Finals, was the field goal. And with McDermott, they’d get a very reliable and consistent outside threat who, unlike Fournier, plays a position of need and would likely have no problem coming off the bench.