A proposed Knicks-Hornets swap would send Miles McBride to Charlotte in a deal built around opportunity, draft picks and a fresh role for a guard who just posted the best season of his career.
In the trade idea put forward by Mohan, New York would land Ryan Kalkbrenner, while Charlotte would get McBride plus three second-round picks: a 2027 second-rounder via New York, a 2029 second-rounder via New York and a 2029 second-rounder via Phoenix.
McBride is set to make $3,956,523 next season, the final year of his contract. He has spent his entire NBA career with the Knicks, who won the 2016 championship against the San Antonio Spurs.
Mohan made the case that McBride could fill a meaningful need for Charlotte, writing, "McBride could be the ideal backup PG who can organize the offense and also make big shots when called upon," Mohan wrote. "McBride also brings the veteran leadership that some would argue is missing from the Hornets roster.
Duece is coming off the best season of his career, averaging career highs in points (12.0), made threes (2.7), and three-point percentage (41.3%). He could be Charlotte’s version of Nickeil Alexander-Walker - the reigning Most Improved Player - who took his game to another level when granted a new opportunity.
On the Knicks, he may never get to truly shine given the talent ahead of him."
Last season, McBride averaged 12.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for New York while shooting 42.3% from the field, 41.3% from three-point range and 78.7% from the free-throw line.
He entered the NBA in 2021 and has career averages of 7.1 points per game in the regular season and 6.2 points per game in the playoffs.
Charlotte came up one game short of the playoffs last season. The Hornets have not reached the postseason since 2016, though the roster is viewed as promising with White, Miller, Knueppel, Reid and Diabaté leading the way.
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