The Knicks began the second half of their season with a flop, suffering a blowout loss to the superior Bucks on Thursday night, dropping New York back to .500.
With a much more difficult schedule the rest of the way compared to the first half of the season, will the Knicks be aggressive in the upcoming trade deadline or continue to proceed with their rebuild slowly and more carefully?
According to Ian Begley of SNY, the latter seems like the much more likely outcome.
Per Begley, teams around the league have gotten the sense that the Knicks are focused on making "smaller" moves at the trade deadline, similar to the deal they made to bring back Derrick Rose, which has actually paid off in terms of the team's offensive improvements since Rose arrived from Detroit. But Knicks fans that are expecting a big splash in the form of Victor Oladipo or Bradley Beal will likely be disappointed.
A smaller move for the Knicks could be acquiring JJ Redick from the Pelicans, who are reportedly shopping both he and Lonzo Ball ahead of the deadline. Redick is a veteran on an expiring contract who could help a New York team that badly needs more 3-point shooting, though teams like the Nets and Celtics could also use a shooter like Redick, and may be more aggressive given their current playoff positioning.
The Knicks have five first-round picks over the next three years, and could wind up holding on to all of them by the time the deadline arrives. New York has drastically improved under Tom Thibodeau, but it appears the front office under Leon Rose prefers to stay the course and not sacrifice the team's assets for a big splash this season.
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