Lakers Linked to Knicks' $12.9 Million Trade Candidate

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated May 23, 2025 8:43 AM ET

The New York Knicks, despite losing a heartbreaker in Game 1 of the Eastern Conferece Finals to the Indiana Pacers, are not expected to go anywhere this offseason. With money tied up in Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart, the core will remain the same.

The Knicks, all season, have struggled with limited bench production. Miles McBride seems to be the only exception, and at the end of the season, Mitchell Robinson returned from injury, and found success.

Robinson has one season left on his contract, although he could seek a bigger role in free agency out of Towns' shadow. He is a starting-quality center, and he might want to play like one.

The Los Angeles Lakers can offer all the glitz New York can provide, and a starting job as Luka Doncic's running mate is hard to pass up.

Rather than let him walk for nothing in the summer of 2026, the Knicks might be incentivized to trade him.

"L.A. could always go even bigger if the right player shakes loose and convinces the club to rethink its stance on Reaves," wrote Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley. "What feels more likely is that Reaves is kept off-limits, and the Lakers land someone like Walker Kessler, Nic Claxton, Daniel Gafford, Robert Williams III, or Mitchell Robinson."

The Lakers showed their hand over the winter, offering Dalton Knecht and a first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams before a failed medical evaluation canceled the trade.

If the Knicks are offered a similar package, it's hard to imagine them passing it up, especially in an effort to add wing depth being Anunoby and Hart, who led the league in minutes this season.

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

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