New York Knicks Receive: Dejounte Murray and Kenrich Williams
New York Knicks Lose: Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 first-round pick (via Milwaukee)
This deal presents the Knicks with a problem similar to what Atlanta has had with Murray. A backcourt with him and Brunson would be small. New York has the additional theoretical problem that Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart are on the roster too.
All four being on the team would make the backcourt rotation mighty crowded, but all four of those players can also play bigger than their listed heights. DiVincenzo and Hart, specifically, could get away with some minutes at the 3.
And as a pure talent play, plugging Murray (21.0 points and 7.0 assists over the last three seasons) in for Fournier (who hasn't been in the rotation for years) and Grimes (8.6 points per game for his career) is almost a no-brainer.
The Knicks already have a lot of creation from Brunson and Randle, but Murray would add another layer. And Brunson has plenty of experience sharing the ball from his years with Luka Dončić. Lineups with those three and some combination of Anunoby, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson (assuming he can get back before the playoffs), Hart and DiVincenzo would be deep and dynamic.
Murray could help on the defensive end too. It's suddenly en vogue to talk about how he's not the player he was with the San Antonio Spurs on that end. That's probably true, but individual defense is sometimes motivated by a team's competitiveness. And Atlanta hasn't had much of that over the last couple years.
If he's suddenly on a contender, with an intense, defense-first coach like Tom Thibodeau, it wouldn't be surprising to see some of Murray's defensive activity and intensity return. He's only 27 years old. It's not like the physical abilities have vanished.
Because every team in a three-teamer needs to send something to everyone involved, this deal also sends Williams to New York. And that should ease some concerns about the aforementioned lack of positional size in the backcourt.
Williams is a 6'6", multipositional forward who brings some similar ingredients as Anunoby (though in lower volume) and whose game is very much like a Tom Thibodeau-style player's.
Getting both him and Murray, without sacrificing any of the current group's most important players, would put the Knicks in real contention to represent the East in the Finals.
