As the trade deadline approaches, Carmelo Anthony believes the New York Knicks should stand firm and not deal any of their players. The Knicks are one of the best teams in the NBA despite their age. Anthony was very vocal about the possible trade of their young stars.
"Shump, he ain't going nowhere. He ain't got to worry about that. That's- I mean, the Knicks shouldn't even be in trade talks," said Anthony after the Knicks loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
What Trade Talks?
In case you haven't turned on the television or checked any tweets or logged on to any of the Knicks blogs, Iman Shumpert has been rumored out of New York.
His defense is down, but can you blame him? The man is coming back from knee surgery. Last season, in his rookie year, Shumpert was a wizard with his hands. In 59 games played and 35 starts, he averaged 1.7 steals and almost 10 points per game. His defensive pressure went beyond the stat sheet as Shumpert drove guards crazy creating numerous turnovers.
He's only played in 12 games and is averaging 5.3 points, 0.7 steals per game. Shumpert's also playing about 10 minutes less of basketball, so how can the Knicks blame him for the lack of performance?
Who Would the Knicks Get?
The main man currently in the Knicks' mix is Phoenix Suns' guard Jared Dudley. Dudley's game isn't about defense, he's great from the perimeter knocking down close to 40 percent of his threes this season.
The only way he would become useful is when the Knicks get three-point happy and go on a shooting binge from beyond the arc.
Another guy briefly mentioned is Orlando Magic J.J. Redick, who, as we know from his Duke days, can light up any three-point line. He's posting career highs with no Dwight Howard to center the scoring around. Redick's been putting up just over 15 points and knocking down just over two threes per game.
Ben Gordon of the Charlotte Bobcats is also in Knicks trade rumors, but he's strictly coming off the bench similar to Rodney Stuckey of the Detroit Pistons who has mostly been used off the bench this season.
If there is any good news for Knicks fans is that all these guys discussed are first round draft choices. However, the obvious negative is that Shumpert is way younger as he's currently sitting on 22 years of age.
