The New York Knicks disappointed many of their fans this season with their poor start. At 20-21, they are still fighting for a postseason spot, albeit three games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers who hold the sixth seed–the last spot on the standings that leads directly to the playoffs.

After a surprising playoff appearance last season, the Knicks were pitted to fight for the top of the East. However, the offseason additions of Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker did not help much in this quest. With that said, New York needs help.

Fortunately, the Indiana Pacers made center Myles Turner available for trade. With Turner on the trading block and the Big Apple franchise seemingly one piece away from a stable playoff spot, here is the perfect trade Knicks must offer the Pacers to get Turner.

Myles Turner Trade To Knicks 

Knicks get Myles Turner

Pacers get Kemba Walker, Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson 

This is simply the trade that makes the most financial sense. In this case, the Knicks would be giving up a lot of young talent, especially the sophomore guard in Quickley, but it is worth it for Turner. He is an underrated player who will bring elite rim protection with a solid offensive game.

The Pacers, on the other hand, would swap out the two-year Turner deal for Kemba Walker that is coming in at half the cost, Quickley who is around $2 million per year for three more years, and Robinson who is an expiring contract that Indiana can choose to get rid of in the summer.

Starting off with the Pacers, should they take this Knicks deal, it will be a boost for their rebuild. Now, neither one of these pieces is going to be leading the Pacers to an NBA title any time soon. However, Quickley is a very good prospect and while he is slightly down this year in terms of production, he is still worth the investment. Quickley has only slightly fallen off, but with more time on the court in Indiana, he will be able to play even better.

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With plans to rebuild, it is worth having these talents. They may be a little risky, but if they pay off, could yield great returns.

Another such risk is Mitchell Robinson, a robust defensive center. His playstyle is very old-school, as he does not really have an outside shot. Interestingly enough, if his career is taken into consideration, the Knicks youngster only took 8.2% of his shots outside of the three-foot range, not counting free throws, of course. In the shots that he does take, he is incredibly efficient. Robinson actually led the league in the 2019-20 season, with a shooting percentage of 74.2%. This season, he is shooting 78.4%, albeit on 4.1 shots per game. His defense is what sells him, as he averages 2.0 blocks for his career, in fairly limited minutes. He is not Myles Turner, but he can replace that part of his game.

For the Knicks, in simple terms, getting Turner for this price is like speedrunning the development of Mitchell Robinson. Everything they could have hoped for from Robinson, they are getting right away in Turner. He is a defensive anchor, who led the league in blocks in two seasons and is currently leading the NBA in that category. His offensive output is questionable at best. He is a fairly solid 3-point shooter, shooting 34.9% on 4.4 attempts per game. In addition to that, he shoots 51.4% from the field and is generally an efficient player.

The Knicks will not win a championship based on this trade, but it will be a step in the right direction. With them taking a step back from last year–due to the fact they made the playoffs last season and it is imminent that they will either have to go through the play-in or miss out completely–the ‘Bockers really need a boost right now.

It is not even relevant that their offseason additions have not worked out, or that Julius Randle is having a poor season. It is just that they need a shock to the system. This way, they would cut the losses on Walker and get a better version of Robinson who they are dealing away. The only real damage will be losing Quickley (and even that damage is predicated on Quickley becoming a lot better than he has been this season).

What is even better for them is the fact that, should Turner really not work out, he can always be flipped again or even let go, since his contract is going to be on the books for this and next season. They will still have the financial flexibility and they can really go for the top six spots in the East if they decide to trade for Turner.