I'm kinda bored, so I was playing around with the trade machine and Kyrie. Not that I want us to trade him, but anyway.
Problem is, there are not many teams willing to trade for Kyrie cause he is expected to opt out of his contract in 2019. The Knicks are one of the few teams that might not be afraid to make an offer. After all, Kyrie had them on his list of preferred trade destinations last summer.
So here's the idea
If the Knicks win the lottery, would you do the following trade?
Kyrie for #1 + Kanter (expiring) + Ntilikina
I'd then use the pick to draft Ayton. Love Horford but he is on the wrong side of 30. Ayton would be the perfect long term replacement for us at the C position.
Not to mention, Kanter's contract expires in 2019, hence we could retain both Smart and Rozier.
ball-handlers: Rozier - Smart - Ntilikina
wings: Brown - Hayward - Tatum - Morris - Semi
bigs: Horford - Ayton - Kanter - Theis
Personally speaking, I'd even do it for the #2 pick as long as we could draft Ayton.
As for the Knicks, Ayton wouldn't be an ideal fit for them cause they already have Porzingis. Kyrie is just 26 years old. They would get a young superstar to put next to Porzingis.