Knicks get questionable return in shocking three-team trade

The New York Knicks may not want to fall for a recent mock trade that sends Julius Randle out of town.

Collin Loring of Heavy Sports has a deal with the Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz that sees New York giving up more than just its All-Star power forward. The deal is as follows:

“New York receives: Walker Kessler, Kevon Looney, Collin Sexton

Utah receives: Miles McBride, Moses Moody, Andrew Wiggins

Golden State receives: Randle, Jericho Sims”

Knicks don’t get Julius Randle’s performance back in mock trade

While the Knicks get a great rim protector in Kessler and an exceptional rebounder with championship rings in Looney, as well as a strong scoring guard in Sexton, none of the three are a match for Randle, who is arguably the best player in the deal after Wiggins.

Even though the Knicks traded for All-Star Mikal Bridges this summer and inherited his 19.6 points per game from last season, New York still needs a second 25-point-per-game contributor to help them out of the East. Bridges has to prove he’s that guy for an entire season before the Knicks can confidently dump Randle without getting that production back.

The Knicks also lose defense and three-point shooting by giving up Miles McBride

Additionally, the Knicks lose McBride and Sims in this trade. McBride, at this point in his career, is a more important asset to the Knicks in the role he played last season than Sexton would be in a backup role behind All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson.

McBride shot 41 percent from three-point range in 2023-24 and increased his field goal percentage nearly 10 percent to 45.2 percent while facing the other team’s best perimeter scorer in an elevated role every night.

The return of Kessler and Looney would make up for the loss of Sims. However, the two big men would be forced to battle for playing time with each other and with Mitchell Robinson, who the Knicks have yet to trade this offseason. Looney would be Brunson’s go-to pick-and-roll partner and could also help the team get easier passes on back cuts and off-the-dribble passes, but Randle’s well-rounded repertoire still outweighs those positives.

New York needs depth at center after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, this trade loads all three teams with players at the same or similar positions. Additionally, the Warriors just lost Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks and may want to hang on to Wiggins to avoid a collapse during the prime of Stephen Curry’s career. The Knicks would be better off keeping their current roster intact.