Kanter would be pissed, he opts in to stay in NY because he loves NYC and then we send him to the boonies of MIL. Jabari is a RFA himself looking for a max deal so that's got to get sorted out before you discuss any deal with him. I really don't see a deal for Jabari with the Knicks, unlike in the past they're not trading firsts and they're not signing guys with histories of knee surgeries anymore.
If Kanter tells us he's only opting in to stay in New York long term and if we don't want to extend him he will opt out and test free agency, at that point it might be considered a low-ball move to trade him if he's been honest about his intentions, however we don't really owe him anything and in our current situation our front office are always going to do what is best for this team long term. If that means trading Kanter after he opts in for a young high upside prospect (e.g. Jabari Parker), or just a young glue guy that fills a hole in our starting line up (e.g. Tony Snell), then in all honest we should expect our front office to make that trade and not worry about whether Kanter feels aggrieved by the situation. At the end of the day the NBA is a business and Kanter likely knows that, and whether he's here in New York or out in Milwaukee he is going to get paid $18,622,514 next season for his services.
As for a potential trade it depends on whether Milwaukee want to pay Jabari Parker a max level deal and believe he's part of their long term future. With how they stand currently they have Giannis as their go to guy at PF, Middleton as their second option 20 a night scorer at SF, and Snell as their 3-and-D specialist at SG and he's hitting 40% of his three point attempts. That trio seems pretty set and I don't see them moving Giannis to center to free up the power forward spot for Parker. If Parker was a more consistent 3 point shooter and a better defender they might have been able to take Snell out of the starting line up, move Middleton to SG, and start Parker at SF but I don't see that scenario happening either. Likewise Middleton is a better player so he's not dropping out of the line up for Parker. So I think that makes Parker expendable for the right price and I don't see it including a future first round pick.
What's a max contract worth for Jabari Parker? I think the figure mentioned is between $146 million for five years, that is an average salary of $29,200,000. Now that might seem excessive considering Parker has had his injury woes but he would bring a potential 20 a night scorer to this team and a former second overall pick. If he can stay healthy and is on a team that will start him, he can still be a very good player in this league. He would be an ideal fit at SF/PF with Knox at the other forward spot and KP at center. That would be a pretty good young front court to work around. Admittedly there's injury risk with Parker and KP but sometimes you have to take that.
So what could we offer them in exchange? Well Kanter will earn roughly $18.6 million next season. He is a capable starter if they want another scorer, or they could use him as a sixth man like OKC did a couple of seasons ago and he actually posted some of the best numbers of his career in that role. We could then throw Courtney Lee's $12.2 million contract into the deal as well giving them another 3-and-D SG/SF option. That duo would help them be more competitive in the play offs next season. This deal would get them a return for a player they are not going to match. I think they'd do it and happily add Lee and Kanter and be a better team for it, as below with their depth chart:
- PG: Bledsoe / Brogdon / Dellavedova
- SG: Snell / DiVincenzo (Draft Pick) / Brown
- SF: Middleton / Lee
- PF: Giannis / Henson / Wilson
- C: Kanter / Maker / Zeller
I guess we could go one step further and throw Lance Thomas into the deal with Lee and Kanter, then take Parker and Dellavedova. The latter has shown he can play both guard spots and shoot threes at a good rate. We could use him off the bench with Burke, if Frank and Hardaway are our starting guards. His contract is reasonable enough to not make it burdensome and would be off the books in 2020 the same year as Lee and Thomas' deals. Either deal works for both parties.
Deal 1
- PG: Frank / Burke / Baker
- SG: Hardaway / Mudiay / Dotson
- SF: Knox / Williams
- PF: Parker / Thomas
- C: KP [when healthy] / Noah / Robinson
Deal 2
- PG: Frank / Burke / Baker
- SG: Hardaway / Dellavedova / Mudiay
- SF: Knox / Dotson?
- PF: Parker / Williams?
- C: KP [when healthy] / Noah / Robinson
I guess Parker's max deal could make it problematic in the pursuit of Kyrie Irving, but we have to ask ourselves how realistic it is for us to acquire him. At the end of the day the Boston Celtics have to be the favorites for his extension because there is no weakness in their starting line up next season with Irving, Brown, Hayward, Tatum and Horford. Factor in their pick next year from Sacramento which could be another high value pick and they are well set to be a contender for many years to come. Obviously he might want to play in New York and lead this team which would be great for us but we can't pin our hopes on a guy that might never join us.