RUMORS: The New York Knicks WANT Donte DiVincenzo BACK?!? + Is Jose Alverado Also In Play?

RUMORS: The New York Knicks WANT Donte DiVincenzo BACK?!? + Is Jose Alverado Also In Play?

We got breaking news here on lockdown. Nick Knicks, courtesy of the guy right next to me. The Knicks might just be bringing back an old friend from Delaware. You are Locked on Knicks, your daily New York Knicks podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. You are locked on to the New York Knicks. I’m Gavin Shawl, a New York City native and credential media member that’s been covering this team for nearly a decade. He is Chris Percy and an NBA reporter, an insider. We can say that. An insider for Clutch Points who’s been covering the New York Knicks as a credential media member for the last four seasons. And this is Lockdown Nicks, your daily podcast on the Nicks, giving you those details, insight on your favorite team five whole days a week. We are part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day and now the number one sports podcast network in the entire world. On today’s show, we talk about uh some breaking news as of a couple of hours ago from Chris Percyan. Um that the New York Knicks are potentially interested in bringing Dante Devenenzo back to New York. We’ll talk through what that trade would potentially look like because that that is probably my single biggest question here. And Jose Alvarado, uh you had this, Ian Begley had this, he is apparently also in the mix. But first, Chris, I just want to say congratulations. This is a major story. This is I I know I know we were talking pre-show you had something on this last season as well, but uh it kind of smacked me in the face when I read it. Uh what what was this whole process like for you and how shocked were you when when you found out about this? To me, this is like um Oh, first of all, thank you. Uh to me, this is like when you can’t find something in the fridge and you yell out to your parents, whoever’s home or whatever. You’re like, “Help me find.” and and they don’t even look. They’re just like, “It’s right in front of you.” Uh, and you’re like, “Oh, oh, there’s the peanut butter, right?” Okay, that is where I left it eight minutes ago. Okay. Um, so like that was kind of this for me. I actually accidentally came across the updated Dante story when it comes to uh Nick’s trade interest and and talks. I I was in I was in the middle of a discussion about Alvarado um because I had seen Ian Begley of SNY’s report that the Knicks would be among the many teams interested if New Orleans were to make him available. And Jonathan Macker, uh dean of Knicks film school, has a a trusty old rule which is that Ian Begley knows more than he lets on. Um, so I followed that rule uh and figured let me see what’s up with this. So looked around a little bit and while confirming that and actually finding out that uh New York and New Orleans have talked about Alvarado. Um I also found out that they’ve talked with Minnesota. Um, and you know, this this wasn’t in the story, but there were there were trades that Minnesota, you know, and New York talked about that didn’t involve Dvenenzo at all. Um, obviously that’s not as headline grabbing. So to kind of take you guys a little inside baseball here, like whenever teams discuss trades, like there it’s very seldom like, hey, here’s player X and draft pick Y and I want player X and player Y and you get a I get a trade exception. It’s it’s like that’s not you get a trade exception rather, but that’s that’s not how it’s it’s usually not just a one-off thing like that. It’s like, hey, how are you? I’m good. How are you? How’s your family? Good. How’s your family? Good. Like these people talk. These people are humans, you know, like they they talk about things other than like uh the darko DPM of their backup point guard. And like on once the pleasantries are out of the way and you know some people just skip them, but uh once once you’re into the the meat and potatoes of the conversation, if you’re an NBA GM or you’re someone who’s on the phone with another team just touching base, like this is not a tampering situation where like you need to request permission from Adam Silver to ask a team about a certain pick or player. like this is like, hey, let’s see if we can help each other out. We both have to agree to a trade for something to happen. What can what can happen here? So, the Knicks infamously, I would say at this point with Brock Aller at the helm, um, topically right now, he’s he’s like the Wizard of Oz of this Knicks roster. Um, when he’s he and and the Knicks front office are having conversations with other teams, they’re checking base on like everything ever. um they’re asking about guys that they have no interest in trading for because if they ask about a guy that they have no interest in trading for and the other team says what they would want back for that guy, that tells the Knicks just as much about how much that team values that player as it does how much they value the Knicks players. Sure. Who did they ask for in return? What are they looking for? Mhm. If the Knicks If the Knicks did happen to say yes to one of their offers, what are they getting in that trade that made them go, you know what, I’m fine? You almost think about it like uh putting like a best offer on something, you know, Facebook Marketplace or eBay or whatever. It’s like, you know, you want to you want to put a a solid opening bid, but also something that you’re fine with them accepting. Like, you’re not you’re not just putting your money out there for nothing. So, it’s it’s obviously different with real people and and uh players have different needs and they fit different uh needs and wants of teams, but yeah, just mix definitely talking to teams and and gathering intel, you know. Um yeah, I’m I’m so fascinated like because to me like it’s not breaking like I I think we could all guess that in a vacuum every team in the NBA would like Dante Dvenenzo. The Knicks given their experience the first time around would love to have Dante Dvenenzo back. It caught my eye that this like to your point like this is somewhat real given like the reality we’re faced with here. Knicks are at the first apron. They can only do this for equal salary. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m still bad with my aprons. But this would involve uh one of their top seven guys going out in a trade. And it’s not going to be Deuce McBride because he’s not making enough money unless like somehow all those contracts combined add up to Dante. But the first name I thought of was Mitchell Robinson. And in the past, it’s funny, me and me and XJ like have talked about a Josh Hart for Dante scenario. I’m assuming based on the way Josh is playing right now, that would that would probably not be a discussion at the moment. Like I I guess my my my two-part question is like how realistic is this? And like what was and I I don’t know if you’ve reporting on this or or just your your instinct like from from what you’ve heard and and knowing about the team like what would the trade look like and like like the reason I got confused is because to me Mitch makes zero sense for a Minnesota team that has Rudy Gobear, has Naz Reed, um is bringing along Joan Behringer who had a promising summer league. So I’m would would this have to be a three team? Is there a name that I’m not thinking of? Like what would what would this actually look like? Can I can I do politics and answer your question without answering it? Um, is that allowed? So, yeah. Basically, like let’s think let’s think about there are a couple different angles that I just want to add to your peripheral vision. Sure. That’s all. uh the Minnesota Timberwolves if they were in talks with another team to trade a player and acquire a player. Okay. What if it is Mitchell Robinson and you’re saying that doesn’t make sense in your head? Let’s try and force the square peg into the round hole. Like what would what would make it make sense? What’s different about those guys? Position. There’s something that’s what you said makes it not make sense. Okay. Probably not that length of contract. Devenzo signed through next season, 2027. Miles McBride signed through 2027, right? Um and then Mitchell Robinson an expiring free agent this season. Uh the Knicks about $150,000 under the second apron. Um, the Timberwolves though, and this is all like if you want to learn about this, go to Nick’s Film School. Jeremy Cohen Cream Cream goat as I call him. This is this is that is where Yep. That that is where uh you’re going to get the best information. But my understanding, and let me tell you right now, my understanding comes from the 4% of what Jeremy has told me that I remember. This is not like, and I was talking to Danny A, and he said, “No, this is like Jeremy talking better than Danny A. This is like Jeremy was telling me about how things work in the world.” Um, and uh, essentially, they have to pay like this extra extra tax, like this repeat tax if they go over and then do it again. Um, but they get out of all that entirely if they were to trade Dvenenzo for an expiring but acquire someone like McBride maybe or or if they like a Cole or Dier or both, you know, uh, to sweeten the pot. So there there’s one angle, right? That’s one thing I wanted to add to your your like list of possibilities is is Minnesota looking to shed money not in dollar amount but in in contract length. Are they looking to duck any taxes? Something else, um, you know, a rumor just just surfaced the other day that, you know, with Minnesota looking for guard play, um, that they are reportedly interested in in Chicago’s Kobe White. Um, okay. Well, quick math. Uh, Kobe White, point guard, shooting guard. Dante Devenenzo, shooting guard. So maybe Kobe is a better fit for this Minnesota team and maybe Chicago with Vevich looking every bit of 35 uh they could use defensively oriented center with with Lonzo Ball in Cleveland uh with you know like it’s like it’s like they’re back to this thing where the the only guys they have that can really really defend are on the perimeter. Um maybe you still play Buchvish half the game, but the other half you go the total polar opposite direction. You go no offense all the, you know, so maybe there’s something there, right, where a third team makes it make sense. And I think you kind of alluded to this, but uh just to you know, confirm for you like maybe that’s something there too. Um and the other side of it is also like I don’t know. I’ve been trying to think because I definitely reported what I reported is just factually the Knicks. have talked to the Pelicans. The Knicks have talked to the Timberwolves. They talked to the Pelicans about this. This is one of the things they talk to the Timberwolves about. Um if they if both of these guys in Devenzo and Jose Alvarado are on the roster by the end of this season or in the offseason or whatever, I wonder if there isn’t some third move we’re not thinking about that makes this all click. Like is there a world where again this is not me reporting this is me throwing stuff sure out to so our listeners can kind of have some play-doh to to to play around with but like um Robinson and McBride for Devontenzo and then Robinson isn’t expiring but now you’re certainly getting something back but then you gave up McBride but you then you replace him by trading and Kick who don’t play anyway for Alvarado. So then you went into the situation with McBride and Robinson expiring, losing him for nothing. Mhm. And you walk out of this situation a and Kak and Dier not playing at all. and you walk out without the guys that don’t play, without the guy on an expiring and without your your young stud in Deuce McBride, but functionally you have a replacement in Jose Alvarado and you have Dante Devenenzo who then, you know, I guess is an upgraded Shamid or allows Shamid to kind of focus a little more on defense than whatever it is. There’s a whole lot of amalgamations of uh combinations here. But my my point is overall that when we look at the money, like you said, there’s only a couple different things that actually make sense. So you you are kind of working backwards a little bit. All right. I that was all great. I have a lot more thoughts on this. I just I haven’t had time to really compile them in an organized way. So I am just gonna uh just just just see see what happens next segment. We’re gonna dive deep on on whether or not this actually makes sense from just a basketball sense for the New York Knicks. We’ll get into it in just a sec here on Locked on Nicks. But first, I want to tell you about our good friends over at Zach Do. Guys, it’s 2025, almost 2026. And those days of waiting for something to become a full-blown emergency before you see a doctor, they are over. As I clear my throat, I need to go to a doctor. No more walking it off for six months. No more pretending that weird shoulder stiffness is just sleeping wrong. It’s time to take your health seriously. 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We thank you for making lockdowns your first listen today and thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. You already live your team every day. Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the Everyday Club today and get Locked on Nick with no interruptions, members only Discord access, and more. All for just $5 a month or $50 a year. All you have to do is check us out over on lockdownnix.supcast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. All right, what’s up? We’re back here on Lockdown Gavin Shaw. Chris Persian, I should have said this at the top. Live from Las Vegas. He’s going to be at the game tomorrow. That’s going to be cool. And you also get to see Wemby against the Thunder, which if I’m being objective might even be a tad more exciting than than Nick’s Magic Round four, Sans Fron Vagner. But we are talking some breaking news courtesy of you. This is so cool. By the way, I don’t know, maybe maybe one time with Ian. I don’t know if I’ve ever had someone on right after they broke news. So, this is this is a treat for me. This is a check mark on my journalism career. Um, I wanted to discuss with you like I’m I’m gonna have you take off your reporter hat and put on your analyst hat because I want to know if this makes the New York Knicks better. And I have a million thoughts on this. I feel like Mitch is so and and again, not that to be clear, you didn’t say definitively that it is Mitchell Robinson. I didn’t say definitively it is Mitchell Robinson. Let’s just live in a hypothetical world where Mitchell Robinson is the main piece going out in this trade. Does that actually make the New York Knicks a better team? To me, he is. He’s still essential for their ceiling, especially if they run into the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like he I I I know we’re we’re going back three years and maybe there’s an argument that he’s not quite the same player, at least defensively anymore. Like his ability to just bully Jared Allen and Evan Mobley on the glass. I do think his physicality could come into play really against any team. The Knicks play. There is just something clunky when he’s on the court. you are you are committed to playing Mitchball. You’re subverting parts of your offense stylistically. We saw like some cute triple handoff stuff, some cute him passing to cutters earlier in this season and that stuff has to some extent gone by the wayside. Defensively, we’ve talked about I’ve not checked the numbers recently, but um largely influenced by that one terrible Magic game. They’ve been a bit worse with him defensively on the floor this year. I believe they’ve also been like only slight slight positive with him offensively on the floor so far this year. He was just such a game changer in last year’s playoffs. It’s hard to get that out of my head. It is also hard to tell if if he is that same guy anymore. And if like the defensive ceiling he flashed at the early early parts of 2024 where I thought he was one of the 15 or so best defenders on planet Earth, I don’t know if that guy is still in there. Dante takes an offense that is already off the charts, right? Second best offense in basketball and and just supercharges it. The one thing that they’ve been missing with this group is the deep three-point shooting, right? like that that extra layer of spacing where there is a player you have to guard 30 feet in. D the way Deuce has been shooting and the range he’s been shooting with like he’s he’s towing that line. I would still put Dante in terms of the volume of threes he gets up and that that extra four feet of range that he brings to the table in a slightly different category. Not a liability defensively. Gives you some secondary ball handling. To your point, he like I mean Nick Knicks fans know this, but he he’s very much a supercharged version of what they’re getting from Landry Sham, which is already immensely helpful. I think my hesitancy here and and maybe maybe this just makes sense is like you are you are leaning even further into offense and if it is Mitch going out you’re leaning a little bit away from defense and all of a sudden you are very reliant on Ariel Hugporti unless another center uh happens to come in. Uh I’ve been talking for four straight minutes so I’m going to throw it to you but that is just like very very quickly my my thoughts on the situation. What? Well, so so no. So Yaboo at the five with I guess Towns being the starter like is very much going all in on a certain style of play. Do you think they play Yaboo over Huckport? Like he obvious like like you you know as well as I do like he just seems so on the fritz and it seems like he would be a guy if not in this particular deal maybe in another one that could be going out. Like would would they like how would they who how would they pick between those two? I don’t I don’t know if uh if Yabuselli would be going out in a trade because of the 5.5 million. Sure. Is it is it Yeah, that’s that’s the number there. Six 6.5. No, it’s it’s about it’s about five I think it’s about 5. Five and a half million player option. Um I I mean so far this season I don’t think in the second apron era he has done enough this season and in his career in general overall for teams to think this guy is worth triple the veteran minimum. So the second apron is absolutely you know kind of like the reason for that there. Um but that’s the reality of the the NBA right now. So, when it comes down to Yabiselli, I’m not sure that I would expect him to be going out in any trades just cuz the market’s not great right now. Like, if he were playing how he was last season and on this contract, I I think there would be interest, you know, maybe some team like the Lakers or uh so, you know, whatever would would offer some second rounders or whatever they could just scraps for him, right? But like right now, I just would say there’s there’s probably not much of a market because um of that player option and because teams who are interested in him can really just if he opts out, go get him over the off seasonason. And if he doesn’t, they can still trade for him then. And maybe catch New York in a situation where if they want to make a Giannis trade happen, they need to give up two second round picks to ditch Yaboo’s salary because the league backs them into a corner and and someone scabs the the line and and takes one second rounder and a lightly protected second rounder in exchange for taking on Yabuselli. You know what I mean? Like it could turn into one of those things. So, we’ll see. Um, I would just say from a basketball perspective, if Robinson is going out and Devenzo is coming in, you are definitely looking at a more reliable roster of players after than before. Um, I think the ceiling is way down and that’s kind of what you alluded to with regard to Robinson’s playoff performance. Um he’s won them several playoff series. Uh and that’s crazy, but also he’s missed 116 games over the two seasons before this one. Like just not doesn’t play. So he doesn’t it doesn’t look right physically this year. Like not not all the way. Like he’s maybe getting there, but he’s not back to the guy he was at the start of 23 24. I will say the Knicks have kind of always in recent years needed Robinson to play himself into shape. Um, consider now this year how much longer it might take for him to play himself into shape given that he’s playing at sometimes every other game. Yeah. And he’s playing in these spurts of minutes throughout these games that he does play in. Um, so you know, probably a little longer of an adjustment period for him there in comparison, but I just think like they definitely either need to be really high on Hucky, which I have said on this show that organizationally they like Hucky and I can tell you, you know, there the coaching staff likes Hucky. You know, Mike Brown has spoken outwardly about some of the things that that Ariel’s pretty good at. Um, I’ve spoken with some Nick coaches that have spoken to Ariel’s potential. Um, they like him, but they’re contending for a championship. Yeah. like you people were talking about doing this this season like coming into this season with Hucky as the backup center and it’s like that’s not it’s not happening because unless he’s draining 30footers in practice at a rate that’s like so undeniable that that you need to start feeding him three-point attempts in games and then all of a sudden his rim presence and this and that like it’s just not they’re contending for a championship. He’s not he’s not like baseline like he’s just not seasoned enough. He hasn’t played enough he hasn’t played enough minutes. He is scared to finish around the rim right now for a guy who is a freak athlete at his side to Mike Green. But would you say Centur is right there with point guard with regard to the positions where like experience you can really just like makes a difference because when it you know sealing the paint, setting screens, not setting illegal screens. Ariel recently had a little runin with the uh officials. He’s with his 12minute foul out. I’ll say this, he’s really good at drop defense, which is like one of to my knowledge one of the hardest things for a young center to master and he he has the niche crouch down where he’s denying the ball handler but also covering his guy like that. That is advanced. But teams like you play the Cavs, you play this is not this year but next year you play like the Pacers down the road like they will put him in a blender and like that is going to be challenging and Mitch like it took Mitch four or five years to get to a point where he could be effective against those types of offenses and those types of teams. So I you’re taking you’re take it’s such a big risk but you are to your point solidifying your floor because you don’t even know if Mitchell Robinson will be on the floor in the playoffs. Yeah, it’s just again it’s a tough situation to be in with regard to your big man play, especially in an NBA right now where I don’t even need to do it, right? Are we at that point where I don’t need to I just I can just say we got to go to break but let’s I could just say the Celtics analogy. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. All right, we’re Chris Percy and I’m Kevin Shaw. We’re gonna talk Jose Alvarado very fast when we come back on Octon Next. But first, we want to tell you about our good friends over at Quo New Year, new systems. And this is the time when a lot of us look at the messier parts of running a business and think there just has to be a better way. And there is. Today’s episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Quo, the smarter way to run your business communications. If you’re ready to make your workday smoother and keep your customers connected without the headaches, Quo makes upgrading your setup easier than ever. A streamlined system makes such a big difference when communicating with customers. Having calls, texts, and voicemails in one clean view keeps everything organized and helps you stay responsive. 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Um they’ve been a pretty significant positive when he’s on the court every single year of his career. So that is not a fluke. that is not purely a factor of of the rest of his teammates, even though I feel like they have good players, but the the team at least being being dismal at uh playing winning basketball. His impact is split almost perfectly between offense and defense, which is uh significant when you’re talking about a six-foot flat point guard. And I think he’s like maybe the second shortest player in the NBA. Like he he’s he’s down there, not up there. Um 68% on the rim this season, low volume, 38% from three on really good volume. They’re 61% of his shots. low assist rate, not a traditional point guard, but he’s off the ball a lot of times. His assisted usage is a little more respectable. He was an elite thief of the basketball in his career. He he perfected, of course, the Alvarado steel where he chases you from behind. He was 100th percentile in steel rate as a rookie that has gone down every year, but he’s still 83rd percentile. Gritty player, winning player. He he’s from New York. I think Christ the King High School. He seems like a nick, Chris. And unlike with Dante, they could theoretically get him from I hate to say this about Tyler Kolic and Pakier, but I will refer to them collectively as some of the flatsom on the Knicks roster. Wow. And I like those guys. I like those guys. But in in salary, purely in a salary context, they are they are flatsome. That Wow. That’s that’s I I think that’s harsh. But honestly, it might be it with Sorry. Sorry. Can I say their contracts are flatsom? They’re both wonderful human beings, talented basketball players. They bring a smile to my face every time I see them. I don’t I was going to I was like I like them. I like both. Well, we were talking about with regard to the, you know, the team’s contender status and therefore standards. Yeah, I I get what you’re saying. I I I do think there’s an argument to Do specifically giving them something that they don’t have in surplus. Um, I like how we flipped from the beginning of the year, by the way, because we were I was making the exact opposite argument uh when we were talking about before the season, but he’s I know he’s been he’s been good in Westchester, right? I’ve not totally been keeping up. I know. I He’s not NBA ready still, but like um I just you know, Zack Low was talking recently and he was like, “Well, you can’t just go out to like the 6’8 wing store and buy a 6’8 wing.” And it’s like, well, with Dier and Pate, they obviously like, you know, neither of those guys were drafted in the top 20 for a reason, but also like I don’t know that they’re clearly trying to have some sort of ecosystem of like dart throws at athletic wings. Yeah. Um, that aside, I thought Jeremy Cohen, again, shout out to him, had a great tweet when he was like, “A lot of concerns about Alvarado’s height, but like Clarkson’s height doesn’t matter.” Like his like it’s not he’s not a functional 6’5. His height doesn’t m on defense. He might as well be 6. Yeah. Like 6’4. And Alvarado, I would say, might as well be like a real legit like 6’2 despite only being six feet flat, which could mean 5’11 and a half, you know, like a little roundup sitch. Um, yeah, I would just say like that’s indicative of a lot of skill. And for Clarkson, who’s super gifted, the Knicks definitely are running an offense that Clarkson can succeed in, but he needs to substitute like all of his isolation stuff for just like taking contact at the rim. And I don’t know. I don’t I don’t know if he’s trying to become Dennis Schroeder at this stage of his career. Like I I don’t know if that appeals to him at all. Um it would to me. I think that would be awesome, but like I I’m also not in the NBA at all, so I can’t really doesn’t matter what I say. Um, so I I do think like whether it’s Alvarado or Dvenenzo, either one would bring the offense something that it doesn’t have right now in the sense that like Alvarado gives them a backup point guard where McBride has emerged as a starter level player and yeah, starter level player and and if you have a single injury and you want to start him, then who’s running the offense for your bench unit? It’s also need to throw out real quick. They the Knicks have been a negative whenever Deuce plays point guard his career. Like like they are he they’re incredibly good when he’s at the two. They’re not good when he’s at the one. Like Alvarado, to your point, can legitimately run an offense and and gives you more than Kok does at this point. Yeah. And so that’s the thing, right, is number one, what does Alvarado at the one allow you to do outside of that? It it lets you let Deuce be mini OG, like I like to call him. Let let him be a wing. Um, also it lets you have someone who could pressure the ball. Like, yeah, we talk about how much McBride is helping Male Bridges. Well, McBride doesn’t play the whole game to start with. So, how are you going to guarantee that when Male’s on the floor, McBride is? you’re not, but you have a bigger chance of male being in the proper defensive role if uh you have McBride and Alvarado out there putting pressure on the basketball. And then the other side of it is Colex seems to kind of be what he is right now, which is NBA level player, but like that’s it. Like that’s literally all you can say. It’s not like a NBA level player who this and this and that or it’s like NBA level player who when he’s really locked in on defense which he has been recently is playable in a regular season context that again this is a team with championship goals standards expectations and looking through a championship contending lens. So, is their third best point guard going to be someone who shouldn’t play in the playoffs when their second best point guard shouldn’t play point guard? Like it doesn’t seem like a major need, but actually it’s one of those things where it it lowkey puts a lot of guys in the perfect position and and literally and figuratively and and the perfect place figuratively, not literally uh with regard to alignment on the court. So Alvarado like Ian Begley said this the other day, four and a half million, you know, approximately his salary this year. I think Jeremy, you know, and I wrote this in the article, if you wait like a 10 days, 14 days, whatever, something in there, it it’s a little easier to just do like Kak and Dier for Alvarado and then you can elevate someone to a standard deal, whatever it is. Like he made it sound really simple and it he’s right. So, um I just don’t know the exact machinations right now and it’s it’s 10:30 in my head. Um, so yeah. Yeah, that’s a good place to end on. Uh, it’s time for you to to enjoy Las Vegas. I I’ll say one more time, congratulations. Like this is like great incredible work by you. And people want to check out the article. It will be um linked in the episode description. You can find it on of course, man. You can also find it on our Twitter. I retweeted it on on Chris’s Twitter. Um, be sure to check it out. Uh, and if you haven’t already, be sure to sub to lock. You never know when Chris might be talking about breaking news. Uh, pleasure to have you on the team. Really cool to be able to do this and uh, I hope you enjoy the game tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoys the game tomorrow. If you want to check out um, a little bit more on that, I did a preview with Philip Rossman Reich of Locked on Magic on that game and we will have a postgame for you uh, early Sunday morning. Um, but until then, he’s Chris, I’m Gavin. We’ll talk to you very, very soon. I’m locked on Nick. [Music]

The New York Knicks eye a blockbuster reunion with Donte DiVincenzo and weigh a move for Jose Alvarado—could these trades reshape their championship pursuit? With financial constraints at the first apron, the Knicks might send out Mitchell Robinson, raising questions about defensive depth and their evolving offensive strategy.

Gavin Schall is joined by Kris Pursiainen, who broke the story for Clutch Points, to break down the complexities of potential trades with the Timberwolves and Pelicans, debate the risks of losing Robinson, and analyze what DiVincenzo’s elite shooting and Alvarado’s gritty playmaking could bring to Madison Square Garden. Key insights include contract challenges, the impact on team chemistry, and whether the Knicks’ pivot towards offense can sustain their playoff hopes. Will New York’s roster shakeup pay off, or leave them exposed in the postseason spotlight?

Read Kris’ Full Story Here: https://clutchpoints.com/nba/new-york-knicks/sources-knicks-eye-2-western-conference-guards-trade-opens

Timestamps

00:00 Knicks Trade Rumors and Talks

03:59 How would a trade for Donte work?

09:01 Why does this make sense for the Wolves?

10:26 NBA Trade Speculation Insights

16:54 Donte’s Impact: Offense vs. Defense

21:50 Hukporti’s Championship Role Unlikely

29:04 NBA Wing Development Concerns

32:31 Point Guard Depth Concerns

34:23 Game Preview and Postgame

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