The New York Knicks have enjoyed a strong offseason, having added Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne and Keita Bates-Diop while re-signing OG Anunoby. Star guard Jalen Brunson also recently agreed to a team-friendly contract extension with the franchise.
As such, New York could be viewed as perhaps the Boston Celtics' biggest threat in the Eastern Conference. They are versatile at almost every position. According to a league executive who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy on Sports, though, a trade for Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic would give New York the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Celtics on both sides of the court.
“The Knicks, that is not really Tom’s kind of big man, but when you look at Boston, they can play five-out," the executive explained. "They can put five shooters on the floor. That is going to be key for any team that wants to keep up with them. The Knicks can’t do that, but you add a guy like (Vucevic) and that’s a game-changer.”
Tom Thibodeau usually prefers an old-school style big man. He likes his centers to protect the rim, set hard screens and be a physical presence inside the paint. Vucevic would give the Knicks a totally new dimension to explore.
In 76 games last season, the veteran big man gave the Chicago Bulls 18 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists on average. He shot 48.4% from the field, although he had a down year on the perimeter, hitting just 29.4% of his three-point attempts.
Vucevic is reportedly available for trade. According to a June 26 article by Matt Moore of The Action Network, the Bulls front office is exploring his market.
"The Bulls are known to be looking to move Nikola Vucevic, along with the never-ending Zach LaVine saga," Moore wrote. "The Caruso trade both helps and hurts those efforts because Caruso's contract was a quality lubricant for teams willing to take on those contracts, which now isn't available."
It's unclear whether Thibodeau would sign off on a deal to acquire Vucevic, but if the Knicks want to be a true five-out offense that can hang with Boston's elite scoring upside, he could be the ideal addition to what is already a championship-caliber roster.
