Keeping it Going

The Knicks look to extend their streak of three straight wins against their little brothers. Plus, West trade targets.

Good morning! Who wants to beat the Nets? Silly question, I know.

Game Night

TONIGHT: Knicks at Nets, 7:30 pm, TNT

Injury Report: All eyes will be on Isaiah Hartenstein, who is listed as questionable with left achilles tendinopathy. Thibs said yesterday that he missed practice with a sore left foot, and talked up both Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as being ready to step in if need be. He also mentioned the possibility of using Randle or OG at the five, which we saw briefly in the Wizards game.

For the Nets, Day’Ron Sharpe is out, which is good news if I-Hart has to miss the game as Sharpe is one of the sport’s best offensive rebounders. Ben Simmons is also out, and in an equally shocking development, the sun will come up tomorrow.

Halftime Zoom: Here’s the link.

What to watch for: Don’t. Play. With. Your. Food.

Since pushing their record to 13-10, the Nets are 4-15 with a negative 7.0 net rating that is better than only the Pistons, Blazers and Hornets in that span.

And yet, this is a team that pushed the Heat to OT last Monday, beat the Lakers in LA on Friday and had an 18-point fourth quarter lead over the Clippers on Sunday before disintegrating down the stretch. You know they’ll be up for the Knicks, on national television in their own building.

The Knicks just need to come out with the requisite energy, and please, for the love of God, take care of the ball.

One saving grace in that department: Brooklyn is 28th in the league at forcing opponent turnovers.

West Targets

No new rumors on the penultimate Monday in January, other than Jake Fischer going on Fred Katz’ podcast and mentioning Malcolm Brogdon as the name he’s been hearing the most in connection to New York’s search for additional playmaking.

As a reminder, I already covered Brogdon here, as well as one other possible target out West, Marcus Smart, here (who I’ve since been told is not going anywhere, and is also hurt). Last week I did a deep dive on all possible East trade targets here. Today, it’s time to head out West.

Initially, I thought this would cover a wide variety of possible options like was the case in the East, but the more I looked, the more I could only come up with an argument for two players, so I did an extensive analysis of both.

As a reminder, our checklist for the ideal trade target:

☑️ Can get into the paint / create an advantage on an offensive possession

☑️ Has a contract that extends into at least next season

☑️ Won’t break the asset bank (doesn’t require any of NY’s own future firsts), but…

☑️ Is good enough to justify trading Grimes for

☑️ Spaces the floor

☑️ The deal works under the cap

☑️ Will be a desirable asset as part of a larger trade package this summer

☑️ Won’t create (another) unwanted rotation logjam (i.e., doesn’t need to start)

Let’s take a look behind Door No. 1…

Jordan Clarkson - $23.5M now; $14M in ‘24-25; $14.3M in ‘25-26

❌ Might break the asset bank

Jordan Clarkson, who was named as a possible Knick target in multiple reports last week, is an interesting trade candidate for a few reasons, starting with his contract.