Only five games separate the 10th-place New York Knicks from the third-place Boston Celtics in the slippery Eastern Conference as of Jan. 7. But if the Knicks want to sink their claws into a playoff berth, they may need to trade for a player who will sharpen their 25th-ranked defense.
The rosters of some Western contenders have embarrassments of riches defensively and rags on the other end.
They might be the likeliest trade partners.
As usual at this time of year, you'll hear many names get tossed around—the Atlanta Hawks are dangling Paul Millsap, per ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein, the Brooklyn Nets are shopping Brook Lopez (as always), per Stein, and the Chicago Bulls are even shopping Jimmy Butler, according to Bleacher Report's own Ric Bucher.
But before you get too excited, the Nets reportedly want two first-round picks for Lopez, which the Knicks are unlikely to give up since they have waited years to recover from the previous management's wanton selling of draft picks. The Knicks would be hard-pressed to accommodate the high salaries of Butler ($17 million this season) and Millsap ($20 million) ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Sara Peters
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