If the New York Knicks want an upgrade at the point guard position, it will not come with Brandon Jennings. NBA analysts believe that the point guard position is the biggest weakness on the Knicks roster right now. Jose Calderon is not cutting it as a starter while Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway cannot seem to find any consistency. That led the team to get linked to a trade for Jennings and the Detroit Pistons are denying everything.
Marc Berman of the New York Post was the first to report that the Knicks could be interested in acquiring Jennings as many believe the Pistons will shop the point guard once he returns to the court following last season's Achilles tendon injury. With the Pistons fully invested in Reggie Jackson, Jennings is the odd man out as he plays out the final year of his contract. According to head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Pistons are not talking to anyone about a trade of Jennings right now.
"We haven't one talk with anybody about him," Van Gundy said, via MLive.com. "I just think that people assume that with Reggie (Jackson) here and the way Brandon played last year, I think people just make that assumption. He's no more or less available than anybody else we have."
Jennings is the ideal trade target since he is in the final year of his contract. Prior to getting hurt he was averaging 15.4 points per game. According to Berman, the Knicks had the ideal package to offer as well. They could try to convince the Pistons to take Derrick Williams and Kyle O'Quinn who have fallen out of favor with the Knicks, but would be a huge upgrade for Detroit. However, right now the Pistons are not selling as they currently hope Jennings can return and be a valuable member of the team.
For now, the Knicks could stay put on trades. Having Calderon be the starter is allowing Grant develop as the point guard of the future while Galloway fills in. The Knicks do not necessarily need to make a trade even though they might want to. The point guard position will be an area of focus soon if it is not during the trade period. According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, the Knicks are likely to make a run at Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies or Rajon Rondo after his stint with the Sacramento Kings. If the team does not make a trade, free agency could be where they add another point guard.
