NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks Pulling Strings To Acquire Jabari Parker, Move Kanter

The New York Knicks have more or less made up their mind on the direction of the 2018-19 NBA season, giving young and less-heralded players more exposure than their veterans. This includes Enes Kanter, the Turkish center who pundits believe will be moving soon.

While there are multiple teams who have inquired about Kanter, nothing has come close to a trade deal getting done. However, it seems that one player that has captured the eye of the Knicks is Jabari Parker of the Chicago Bulls.

According to the New York Daily News, the Knicks have had preliminary talks with the Bulls about Parker and Kanter. Unfortunately, the deal reportedly hit a snag since the it would need a third team to make it work. That conduit team, it turns out, will be where Kanter would end up.

In a previous article, one team identified to be interested in Kanter was the Sacramento Kings. The deal would involve Zach Randolph, a player that Knicks head coach David Fizdale has mentored before. But that report was more of a straight-up deal between the Knicks and the Kings. A three-team trade involving Kanter, Parker and Randolph may need more assets to make sure that all teams would end up with a fair deal.

Parker joining the Knicks could make sense. He is only 23 years old and could fit in well with the rebuilding plans of New York. The 2nd overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft saw his career suffer some lows, particularly during his rookie year with the Bucks where he suffered a season-ending ACL injury on Dec. 15, 2014.

Parker did return during the 2015-16 NBA season, struggling earlier on before finding his groove. The Bucks gave Parker a qualifying offer after the 2017-18 NBA season but later retracted it, paving the way for the former Duke Blue Devil to join the Bulls. The move failed to produce dividends, the reason why the Bulls are now listening to offers for the 6-foot-8 forward.

So far, Parker has been averaging 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds in 31 games for the Bulls, Sporting News reported. And while these numbers seem fairly average, it may be best for the Bulls to get a double-double machine like Kanter to improve their frontline.

The same holds true for Parker who may need a change of scenery. Could the Knicks, a team in rebuilding mode, be his next stop?