A few days ago, the New York Knicks announced that they will not be pursuing extensions before the season with any extension-eligible players. Those players include Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Miles McBride, and Tyler Kolek.
Now, how did the Miami Heat get involved? Well, the thing is, the Heat absolutely love scrappy players. And the Knicks just happen to have a lot of them, many of whom were just listed above.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the Heat will not be trading for Karl-Anthony Towns. I know, shocking news. But I like to be thorough in my processes.
However, the other three guys listed are genuinely interesting for this Heat team.
The Knicks could play a role in the Heat's trade deadline plans
Josh Hart profiles as a “Heat guy,” given that he does all the dirty work and plays great defense. Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek could either come in as starters or as guard depth for a Heat team that could lose Davion Mitchell in free agency if he outperforms expectations.
Of course, the big issue is contracts. Hart is eligible for a four-year contract worth around $132 million, which he obviously isn’t getting the full amount of. Still, a four-year $100 million-ish contract for Hart is very realistic.
For McBride, his max contract number is in four-years, $60 million, and he’s already taken a huge discount for the Knicks, given that he’s only made $13 million over the last four years of significant development. And Kolek’s contract number is unclear but would likely come very cheap considering his status as a seldom-used second-round pick.
Still, all three guys are tradable and realistic to extend for the Heat. The Nikola Jovic contract could be used to match Hart’s, and players on smaller contracts such as Simone Fontecchio and Nick Richards can be used to acquire McBride and Kolek. And the Heat would, of course, have to attach draft capital to get them.
So are these trades necessarily likely? No. But McBride and Hart match the defensive identity of the Heat, and Kolek could be a cheap way to improve the guard depth that could become an issue sooner rather than later.
If the Knicks get off to the championship-caliber start they’re expected to have, these guys will likely become unavailable as winning becomes the main focus. If they falter, don’t be surprised to see them available for trade sooner rather than later.
I trust Pat Riley to do what’s right.
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