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Weeks before all the recent trade speculation, we posed the question, “Should the NY Knicks consider trading Iman Shumpert?”

It was a distasteful thought for fans, as evinced by the commentary. It wasn’t a move we were proponents of either, and we concluded the Knicks should hold on to Shumpert until at least next year’s deadline to see how he develops first.

But it was a fair look at something an emotionally-detached organization (read: business) looking to win it all might have to consider.

Somewhere at the turn of the year, Glen Grunwald and James Dolan must look at everybody on paper and decide if they’ll do something before the trade deadline, which this season is at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 21.

And so, it appears, Shumpert may be on the block. ESPN’s Ian Begley confirmed that “the New York Knicks are listening to trade offers for Shumpert.”

The fact is, New York has little room to maneuver, and Shumpert is one of the team's few viable trade pieces if the Knicks decide to go for it all. Going for it now, via trade, is the only thing the Knicks' roster constraints will allow.

It is impossible to imagine the Knicks squeezing out a rebuilding project off of this trade deadline.

With age, injury and heavy contracts slowing down New York's march to the No. 2 seed, the Knicks could eke out some depth—at two positions in particular: guard and forward—this Thursday that will give them a better chance of coming out of the East.