Trade season in the NBA is officially upon us, as teams have a large enough sample size to know where they need to improve and are ready to start negotiating a deal before the trade deadline on Feb. 7. There’s still plenty of time for teams to work out a deal, but for the New York Knicks and the Sacramento Kings, preliminary discussions are already taking place.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two sides are working through a potential deal that would involve a big man swap. Enes Kanter, who has fallen out of the Knicks’ starting lineup recently, and Zach Randolph, who has not taken the floor in Sacramento this season, are reportedly involved, although Wojnarowski reports there’s nothing imminent between the two sides.
New York and Sacramento discussing an Enes Kanter-Zach Randolph trade of expiring contracts, but nothing close yet, league sources tell ESPN. Kings would want to send out more expirings in a deal. A third team could be helpful.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2019
It’s a trade that would make sense for both sides, even if it’s incomplete due to the potential involvement of a third team. Both players are on expiring deals, Kanter would give the Kings a scoring and rebounding punch off the bench, and Randolph, who played for the Knicks from 2007-09, would be the type of veteran locker room presence that could be invaluable for a young team. Plus Randolph played for Knicks coach David Fizdale as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2016-17 campaign.
