NBA Trade Rumors: 3 players that could leave the Knicks this month

The New York Knicks are once again having a bad year. The team has opened the season with a 9-24 record, and are out of playoff contention before Christmas. It will be the sixth consecutive year that the team has missed out on the postseason, and the Knicks have shown little signs of improvement since the departure of Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks are hoping to sign an All-Star free agent Kevin Durant in the summer, although the team will need more than one addition to their roster to compete in the East. So ahead of a potentially exciting summer for Knicks fans, here we will count down the three player's that the franchise should be looking to move on:

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#3 Enes Kanter

New York Knicks v Atlanta Hawks

Enes Kanter was extremely highly rated going into the 2011 NBA draft, and the Utah Jazz took him as the third pick. The Jazz were expected to build around Kanter and Gordon Hayward, although Kanter failed to have the same impact as Hayward, and in 2015, the Turkish center was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team deal.

In OKC, the 27-year-old served as a back up to the younger Steven Adams, and Kanter was able to become a major offensive force from the bench. Nevertheless, Kanter was traded after just two seasons, in a deal that took the Turkish player and Doug McDermott to New York, in exchange for Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks only took on Kanter due to their desperation to get rid of Anthony, and the move to New York has proved to be a bad fit for the center. His defensive vulnerability has been exploited by opposing teams, while his $18 million salary makes him an odd man out on a young Knicks team.

Kanter's current contract will expire in the summer, and the team should look to pick up a draft pick and a young player before the February trade deadline.

#2 Mario Hezonja

New York Knicks v Boston Celtics

Mario Hezonja was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Orlando Magic, as the team expected the Croation to quickly become a starter. Despite this, the forward started just 41 games in three seasons in Orlando, and the franchise quickly realized that Hezonja was not the dominant force that they hoped that he would be.

The 23-year-old became a free agent this summer after his fourth-year option was not picked up by the Magic as the organization concluded that the player did not fit in Orlando.

The Knicks signed him to a one-year $6.5 Million deal, however, Hezonja has once again failed to find a place in the starting five, and his return of 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game has been disappointing.

Ultimately, Hezonja will once again become a free-agent in 2019, and the Knicks will want to cut their losses before the deadline.

#1 Courtney Lee

Washington Wizards v New York Knicks

After playing college basketball at Western Kentucky University, Courtney Lee was drafted by the Orlando Magic as a late first-round pick in the 2008 NBA draft. The shooting guard lasted just one season with the Magic, although he has since played for the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets.

Lee has been with the Knicks since 2016, and his first two seasons with the franchise were productive. During the 16/17 and 17/18 seasons, Lee was a regular starter, and the 33-year-old averaged nearly 12 points per game while shooting an impressive 40% from behind the arc.

Despite this, the veteran has seen a reduced role so far this season, starting just one game, while averaging a career-low 15.1 minutes. The Knicks have a number of emerging wing players on the roster, and it appears that the franchise is minimizing Lee's role in preparation for a trade.