With LaVine likely to become available on the market, the Knicks would be expected to be the favorites to pursue him in a trade. However, it will be a very tall order for them after gutting many of their assets in the trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Acquiring any star player comes with big risks, but what makes LaVine extremely risky is his recent injury problems and a huge contract. He played just 25 games last season after suffering a foot injury that would require surgery and is currently in the third year of a lucrative five-year, $215 million deal.
Additionally, the Knicks would have to give up a lot of key players to make the money work for them. That would almost certainly come at the expense of OG Anunoby, who is on the first of a five-year, $212 million deal he signed with the Knicks this offseason, along with bench heavyweights Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson. Anunoby is a big difference-maker for the Knicks on the defensive end, and it might not be worth trading him for a player who doesn’t offer much on that end of the floor.