The New York Knicks are not a team with patience and that is one reason why reports are coming out that the team is getting into talks with the Denver Nuggets to pull off a trade deal for Kenneth Faried, one of the best young big men in the league and this comes after the Knicks lost Tyson Chandler to an injury.
According to the New York Daily News, talks between the two teams are "intensifying" and that could mean the best young player for the Knicks could be headed to Denver and it wouldn't be the first time that the Knicks have pulled off a deal with the team, as they did that multiple times with Marcus Camby as well as Carmelo Anthony and now another notable deal could go down. The team has been struggling mightily and with JR Smith coming back, the team feels it could get rid of Shumpert and adds something solid in Faried, who is one of the best rebounders for the Nuggets.
This season Faried has played well in the early goings and as a former resident of Jersey where he is from, he could be happy to head back near his home town. The Knicks have been working on ways to add depth to the roster after losing Chandler and now it appears Faried is that option.
The New York Knicks are not off to a hot start and after getting totally beat down by the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at home at Madison Square Garden, could the team be directed to pull off a big trade by owner James Dolan of someone like Iman Shumpert, a player he wanted to deal over the summer?
According to ESPN NY, that is not likely, but it is something that has been kicking around lately with the Knicks playing so bad, as Dolan considered trading Shumpert, arguably the best young player on the team, this past summer and the way the team has played could spur a deal. The Knicks have looked terrible this season on offense and defense and they rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring, rebounding and assists per game and now they face a tough stretch with the Atlanta Hawks and the Houston Rockets and if they don't start playing better, something could go down soon as they try and figure out a way to get going without Tyson Chandler, as he is out for over a month at least with his leg injury.
Dolan's trade option was released last summer in an interview with Dwight Howard from Stephen A. Smith and while that was only talk, the Knicks could look to make a deal with the way they have played, as they have won only two games and also suffered a three game losing streak already this season. Shumpert was coming back from an injury last season and he was very good in the playoffs last year while averaging over six points with three rebounds in 12 games during that stretch and he also is considered one of the best perimeter defenders for the Knicks.
Shumpert played well against the Celtics in the playoffs and with the team ranking near the bottom in scouring after being one of the best last season, but changes could be coming and that includes head coach Mike Woodson as well. A trade of Shumpert would be an old Knicks move, but Dolan has done things like that in the past and with Carmelo Anthony possibly and likely opting out at the end of the season, the Knicks can't afford to keep playing this way for the rest of the year and this could be their best and only chance with Melo leading the way.
The team added Ron Artest and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the offseason and with the schedule continuing to be tough through the month, if the Knicks don't pull out of this, Dolan is liable to do something crazy. The team wants to be one of the best in the east and right now they are looking worse than teams like the Pistons and Raptors and that is embarrassing for a club that expected to compete with the likes of the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, but there is no way that is going down and with other strong teams like the Brooklyn Nets and Chcago Bulls also ni the conference, the Knicks have no choice but to try and get better faster and a trade could be the only way to do that and Dolan could do something nuts like ditch Shumpert to try and get that done.