The Knicks ended a 53-year wait in June, beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Nearly the entire title team is back for the defense. One of those names is still waiting on his next deal.
Miles McBride is now the longest-tenured Knick, and he is in the final year of his contract, earning just under $4 million. The Aug. 11 extension deadline passed with nothing signed. Now Deuce looks like the obvious trade chip, mostly in ideas that ship him out for a backup center.
But, selling him now would be the real mistake. SB Nation’s Posting and Toasting argued in a recent column that Deuce's small salary is the reason to keep him, not move him. "You cannot find that level of two-way reliability for under $4 million," the site wrote.
Do the math on any trade. A $4 million contract only brings back a $4 million center, likely a third-stringer who gets targeted in ball screens and sits in May. New York would give up a closer for a towel-waver.
The Knicks have done this before. Last season, they knew they probably could not afford to re-sign Mitchell Robinson, but Leon Rose kept him anyway instead of trading him. Robinson helped them win a title.
Deuce deserves the same treatment. In a video of his availability shared by SNY, head coach Mike Brown pushed the decision toward the front office. "At the end of the day, he wants to be here, we want him to be here, and that's something that I have faith in Leon, and even Deuce's representatives, to figure that out," Brown said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
