:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62816924/usa_today_9775196.0.jpg)
Woj bomb alert!
New York and Sacramento discussing an Enes Kanter-Zach Randolph trade of expiring contracts, but nothing close yet, league sources tell ESPN. Kings would want to send out more expirings in a deal. A third team could be helpful.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2019
Enes Kanter apparently has trade value, at least in the form of swapping expiring contracts. Woj makes it sound like a straight-up swap isn’t on the table, though it would be possible: the Kings are about $11 million under the salary cap for this season, so they could, in theory, absorb the extra $7 million of Kanter’s $18.6 million contract compared to Z-Bo’s $11.6 million.
Sacramento has about $11MM in cap space.
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 9, 2019
Z-Bo carries an $11.7MM cap hit.
So if they trade Z-Bo, they can take back up to $22.7MM in salary.
Kanter makes $18.6MM, so do the math for what else you can add if deal was straight up for Z-Bo
I wonder if third team helps NY or SAC
If the Kings do indeed want to send out more expiring contracts (sure, why not?), they have an abundance: Iman Shumpert ($11 million, another OAKAAK), Kosta Koufos ($8.7 million), Ben McLemore ($5.6 million) and Willie Cauley-Stein ($4.7 million) are all in the last years of their deals. Cauley-Stein figures to be off the table, since the Kings would (presumably) be picking up Kanter to back him up, but it would be hilarious if the Knicks could somehow pick up another lotto pick from the 2015 draft.
The mention of a third team is interesting as well, and frankly a little confusing... that is, unless the Knicks are trying to do something even bigger here, and send out one of their longer-term contracts like Courtney Lee or Tim Hardaway Jr. If the goal is just basically a Z-Bo-for-Kanter swap with some extra pieces, I’m not really sure why a third team would be necessary.
So what’s our guy Z-Bo been up to this year? Nothing! He’s been relegated to the bench all year as the De’Aaron Fox-led Kings are having a breakout season. He did average 14.5 points and 6.7 boards in 26 minutes per game for the Kings last year. Presumably, if he joined the Knicks, he’d fill a veteran leadership/spot minutes role with his former coach David Fizdale.
So, fire up those trade machines. Let’s see your best Kanter/Z-Bo trade in the comments.