1 of 5

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

Denver Nuggets Receive (after Dec. 14): SG/SF Courtney Lee and PG Ramon Sessions

New York Knicks Receive: PF Darell Arthur, SG/SF Malik Beasley and 2018 top-20-protected first-round pick

The New York Knicks need to tank. Flirting with .500, even amid injuries, is overrated. Their entire performance thus far is overrated. A home-heavy schedule and unsustainably effective display in the clutch is propping up one of the league's most misleading starts.

Perhaps recent injuries to Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis will convince the Knicks to steer into a nosedive. Maybe they finally realize the importance of snaring one final top-seven prospect before Porzingis gets his extension. Whatever revelation they reach, it needs to come fast.

Dealing Courtney Lee is a good place to begin the teardown. He typifies the coveted three-and-D label. He's putting down 45 percent of his triples and ranks second on the team in points saved on defense, according to NBA Math.

Lee would noticeably bolster the rotation for a Denver Nuggets squad that was short on wings to begin with and has imploded on defense while Paul Millsap recovers from wrist surgery. Since he went down during a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 19, they rank 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions.

Acquiring the 32-year-old wing is also a good hedge against Will Barton's and Wilson Chandler's (player option) forays into free agency this summer. Including this season, Lee has three years and $36.8 million left on his contract—a deal that Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal formulaically graded as the fifth-best among all shooting guards.

Attaching Malik Beasley to a protected first-rounder equates to forking over two picks, but the Nuggets shouldn't balk. Beasley has hardly seen the floor even when they've been desperate for minutes on the perimeter. They're more inclined to roll out Juan Hernangomez, a should-be 4, at the 3. They cannot treat Beasley as a first-round prospect on his own.

Swallowing Darell Arthur's pact is the cost of doing business for the Knicks. He'll make nearly $7.5 million next year after picking up his player option and be off the books by 2019—a small price to pay for what amounts to two first-round prospects and a substantive boon to their 2018 lottery odds.