New York Knicks could make a play for one of the San Antonio Spurs stars

Could the New York Knicks come after one of the San Antonio Spurs stars?

For a team like the New York Knicks, living without a star player is an unacceptable situation. One of the largest most prominent teams, playing in its largest market, needs a star player to keep its fanbase engaged. This is a situation the Knicks are trying desperately to change. The San Antonio Spurs can help them make that happen.

Since they came to an agreement with Leon Rose to become their new President, the Knicks have been linked to a variety of stars. Everyone from Donovan Mitchell to Zach LaVine has been identified as a potential target for the Knicks.

We know a few things for sure. You can tell Rose is serious about getting a star to New York, we know that new Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau does his best work with veterans, and we know that the San Antonio Spurs have a few stars who could be heading out the door soon.

One of the San Antonio Spurs stars could be a good fit for the Knicks

Our Matty Farner just laid out a great case for why DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge can coexist with the Spurs growing youth movement. He identified the impressive play of DeRozan in the bubble and Aldridge’s potential as a floor spacer as reasons why Spurs fans should be optimistic about what the future might hold for the two in San Antonio. These are valid points to be sure but don’t be surprised to see some Spurs fans still unconvinced.

DeRozan did play well in Orlando and Aldridge’s newfound touch from behind the arc was a great benefit to the Spurs offense but the argument could be made that San Antonio would be off with using the two as trade assets at this point.

We still haven’t gotten word from DeMar’s camp about what he plans to do regarding his player-option but if his comments shortly after the Spurs final regular-season game is any indication it sounds like he’s coming back. And without a long term extension, both he and Aldridge are going to be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2021.

Re-signing the two to extensions would eat into the healthy amount of cap space that San Antonio is slated to have that summer. Cap space that could help them chase a different star more in line with their current timetable.

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These factors could push the Spurs to try to move one or both of their stars this summer. If that’s the case, they could find a worse trade partner than the Knicks.

With young talent like Kevin Knox and still valuable veterans like Maurice Harkless, not to mention a top-ten pick in the upcoming draft, the Knicks could put together an enticing package in a sign-and-trade deal that would send DeMar DeRozan to New York. While they may be interested in LaMarcus, DeRozan’s age, and his lack of a positional overlap with Mitchell Robinson, likely makes him the more attractive of the two players, at least to the Knicks.

The San Antonio Spurs don’t need to force anything. They’ll be fine with bringing DeRozan and Aldridge back and could very well find a way to have them coexist with their young players. But if Leon Rose and the Knicks are deadset on bringing a star to the Big Apple and put together a trade package that makes sense they shouldn’t feel obligated to hold on to either of their stars.

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Rumors around the New York Knicks and sem-available stars are sure to exist for the rest of the off-season. If they start to involve one of the Spurs stars, fans of the team should rightfully pay attention.