Zion Williamson Traded to New York Knicks Report Is Fake

A viral Facebook report claims Zion Williamson has been traded to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster deal involving Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride and Jordan Poole.

The report is fake. But there is one interesting part of it: the player-for-player portion of the proposed trade actually works in ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.

The post from Box Score PH claims New York would receive Williamson and Poole from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Bridges, McBride, a future first-round pick and a future second-round pick. There has been no legitimate report or official announcement that such a trade has happened.

ESPN’s Trade Machine, however, accepts the four-player framework. It lists Williamson and Poole at a combined $76.2 million in salary and Bridges and McBride at approximately $37.4 million, and labels the proposed transaction successful.

So, technically, there is something to play with here.

Realistically? It would be awfully difficult to understand why the defending champion Knicks would want to do it.

HeavyA viral Facebook post from Box Score PH falsely claimed Zion Williamson had been traded to the New York Knicks.

Zion Williamson Knicks Trade

There is no conceivable reason the Knicks should be looking to break up a championship core right now to trade for one of the most polarizing players of the last five years.

But if they decided they absolutely had to get Zion Williamson, the fake report at least gives us a hypothetical that ESPN’s Trade Machine says can work.

The proposed deal:

Knicks receive:
Zion Williamson
Jordan Poole

Pelicans receive:
Mikal Bridges
Miles McBride
1 future first-round pick
1 future second-round pick

ESPN’s Trade Machine accepts the player portion of that deal. The screenshot projects the Knicks to lose three wins following the transaction while New Orleans gains three.

That alone should tell you something.

New York would be moving Bridges, one of the biggest pieces of its championship roster, plus one of its better reserve guards in McBride and draft capital. In exchange, it would be taking perhaps the biggest high-risk, high-reward swing available in Williamson while also adding Poole.

Williamson’s talent has never really been the question.

When he is healthy and at his best, there are very few players built to deal with his combination of strength, explosion and touch around the basket. The question has always been how often a team can count on getting that version of him.

And that calculus looks very different for the Knicks today than it would have a few years ago.

New York is no longer desperately searching for the star or roster move that might finally make it a championship contender. The Knicks already found a formula that works — and then proved it by winning the championship.

Bridges is part of that formula.

Trading him, McBride and draft capital for Williamson and Poole would mean changing both the identity and risk profile of a team that has very little reason to change anything dramatically.

Would the trade work in the Trade Machine?

Yes.

Does that mean the Knicks should actually do it?

That’s a very different question.

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