New York Knicks Trade Rumors: Brandon Jennings Ready For New Team, Maybe Cavs?
New York Knicks trade rumors have routinely focused on Carmelo Anthony, but Brandon Jennings has quietly been raising his stock this season. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday (Feb. 4) he certainly improved his trade value, giving Knicks team president Phil Jackson something else to work with as the NBA trade deadline draws closer.
Starting at point guard against the Cavs, Jennings went 8-of-13 from the field, including hitting on 6-of-8 three-point shots. He would finish with 23 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and two steals over 42 minutes of work. Doing so on national television will certainly cause a lot of NBA general managers to pay attention to Jennings over the next two weeks.
The New York Knicks landed Brandon Jennings on a one-year deal worth $5 million during this past NBA offseason. He was brought in to be the backup point guard to Derrick Rose, who had been acquired from the Chicago Bulls a few weeks before the signing. Jennings has appeared in 52 games for the Knicks (10 starts) this season, averaging 8.8 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per contest.
During his eight-year NBA career, Jennings has played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks. He has career averages of 14.9 points, 5.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. One of the knocks against Jennings has been his field goal percentage, as he has only made 38.9 percent of his career shots. He does shoot 34.9 percent from three-point range and 79.6 percent from the free throw line, though.
As a member of the Bucks, Jennings was asked to do a lot on offense, at times making him a shoot-first point guard. While taking better shot opportunities with the Knicks, he has also been doing a relatively good job of taking care of the ball. Most of his time has been spent coming off the bench, but he has certainly shown flashes of brilliance starting for the injured Derrick Rose. If Rose misses more games, it will allow Jennings to showcase his talents even more in a contract year.
One of the main reasons that more New York Knicks trade rumors haven’t mentioned Brandon Jennings is that All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony is taking a lot of the attention. Knicks team president Phil Jackson has some tough decisions to make about the future of the franchise and whether Anthony will even be a part of it. In secondary stories, Derrick Rose is also coming up in NBA rumors, as he will be a free agent looking for a max deal after this season. Jennings finds himself in a similar situation, as he may be looking for a new team in a few months.
The Knicks are fading in the Eastern Conference standings, getting embarrassed on national television against the Cleveland Cavaliers this weekend. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, as the Knicks were getting blown out, the commentators began discussing how the team needs to either start making moves or tell Anthony that this is his team. Former NBA MVP Magic Johnson also had a lot to say about the situation during the halftime show.
If the Knicks did find a way to sneak into the 2017 NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed, the team would be rewarded with a first-round series against Cleveland. The Knicks didn’t look good against a Cavs team that was playing without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, suggesting the Knicks could lose by even more against a healthy Cavs roster. This is only going to increase the number of NBA trade rumors about Carmelo Anthony and his teammates. For Brandon Jennings, getting mentioned in New York Knicks trade rumors will only serve to help him now and in free agency.
[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]
