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Celtics Sharpshooter Dubbed Top Knicks' Trade Target This Summer

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Dible | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 9:46 PM ET

The New York Knicks fell two wins shy of an NBA Finals appearance, which means the summer will be about putting the last pieces of the puzzle together to get over that hump.

New York depleted most of what was an impressive store of assets last summer in its acquisitions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Salary cap concerns will also be an issue moving forward, but with one of the best five- or six-man rotations in the NBA already, the margins are likely where the Knicks will look to work anyway.

In that context, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report named Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser among New York's top offseason trade targets.

"[Hauser] has already contributed to a championship run, serving as a full-time rotation regular for Boston's 2024 title team. He could help New York increase its three-point volume while also holding his own as a serviceable team defender," Buckley wrote on Saturday, May 31. "He also has a chance to get squeezed out of the Celtics, too, given their pressing need to cut costs."

Quality depth was something the Knicks appeared to be missing for much of the regular season, though the team found real contributions from the likes of guards Landry Shamet and Delon Wright once they hit desperation mode against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Hauser is the type of player who head coach Tom Thibodeau could likely rely on throughout the course of a full year, which would be a more ideal scenario come playoff time than how the postseason roles of Shamet and Wright developed over the past week.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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