Knicks Trade Target Taken Off Market

The New York Knicks are still in need of a center and they could look to the trade market to get that desire filled.

SNY contributor David Vertsberger suggests that the Knicks should send Miles McBride and Precious Achiuwa in a sign-and-trade to the Milwaukee Bucks for veteran Brook Lopez.

“The Knicks can target Lopez, another center whose talent helps make up for the loss of Hartenstein. … Lopez brings a fresh look from the five spot New York hasn’t seen before,” Vertsberger writes. “Although he’s 36 years old, Lopez is still a solid defender, and while his rebound numbers don’t stand out, he boxes out well to create opportunities for others to grab the boards. He’s also a 35.4 percent shooter from three on five attempts a game over the last six seasons in Milwaukee, providing some spacing from the position the Knicks haven’t had to this point, which can open up a lot offensively for Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.”

Lopez did regress this past season, going from 15.9 points per game to 12.5. He was also an All-Defensive First Team member in the 2022-23 campaign, but didn’t even make the Second Team in 2023-24. Despite his struggles this season, Bucks general manager Jon Horst says the team is not parting ways with Lopez.

“First of all, rumors and chatter are what makes the league so interesting and so fun, so people are always going to speculate and talk about it. And I typically don’t talk about any of this stuff with the media, but I will say, because Brook is so core to who we are, we have zero intentions of trading Brook,” Horst said via The Athletic insider Eric Nehm.

While the Knicks could have benefitted from Lopez, the team will have to go elsewhere. Perhaps the Knicks could come calling at the trade deadline or next offseason when Lopez is an unrestricted free agent, but for now, it appears the former All-Star will remain with Milwaukee.

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