There is a non-zero chance the New York Knicks leave the 2023-24 NBA season with the franchise's first title since 1973.

That just isn't the most likely way in which this campaign plays out. While the Knicks have engineered some great stretches, they may be more of a really-good team than a truly great one, and that distinction weighs a ton when up against the Association's very best.

If the Knicks wind up with anything other than a championship run this postseason, look for them to go star-searching this summer. With a slew of first-round picks at their disposal, a bunch of mid-sized salaries attached to solid-or-better players and a pinch of young talent, they're about as well-equipped as anyone to broker a summer blockbuster.

So, when considering hypothetical offseason trades for this team, it's only fitting to aim at the league's elites. New York has done a masterful job of building one of the NBA's deepest rosters, but it might still require a star-level sidekick for Jalen Brunson to turn its championship dream into a reality.

One note before the theoretical wheeling and dealing: Since payrolls and rosters will change over the upcoming offseason, we'll focus on general trade ideas as opposed to true dollar-for-dollar exchanges.

Completing the Villanova Collection

The Villanova-to-NYC pipeline has treated the Knicks incredibly well. Beyond Brunson, who needed less than two full seasons in the Empire State to reach stardom, New York has also watched former Wildcats Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo fill critical roles for this club.

Those three all enjoyed championship success during their shared tenures in college, but a fourth, New York-based baller was in on the fun, too: Brooklyn Nets swingman Mikal Bridges. And the way that Hart sees it, Bridges might feel like he's missing out, as his three college teammates are all winning big together while he's struggling to help the Nets secure so much as a Play-In Tournament ticket.

"It's like that SpongeBob meme when Squidward is looking out the window and he sees SpongeBob and Patrick having fun. [Mikal] is Squidward," Hart told Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.

At the very least, Bridges must be wondering whether Brooklyn will be able to build a winner around him while he remains in his prime. And the Nets might be pondering the same thing. If they are, they might see more long-term value in what the Knicks have to offer (three first-round picks feels like a realistic foundation for a trade package) than what Bridges can provide.

Bringing Donovan Mitchell Home

Apologies to any Cleveland Cavaliers fans who might be reading this (perhaps out of morbid curiosity), but no, the Donovan Mitchell-to-New York chatter isn't going away. Frankly, it may never cease until the New York native is back in his home state.

"Anybody who gets to play at home, it would be a pretty special thing for him," Orlando Magic forward Joe Ingles said of his former teammate, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "... He's a New York kid. If I could play in Melbourne and make the same amount of money, like, why wouldn't you think about it?"

Mitchell may not be thinking about a blue-and-orange tinted future at the moment, but maybe that changes if the Cavs suffer an early playoff exit again. If he isn't fully sold on Cleveland's future, he could make things awfully uncomfortable for the franchise, since he can reach free agency as soon as 2025.

If he requested a trade, the Knicks would surely come calling, and the Cavaliers would have to at least entertain those talks. It might take something like three first-round picks, pick swaps and more to get him, but if New York is convinced he is the missing piece to its championship puzzle, that's a price it has to pay.

Cashing in the Trade Chips for Joel Embiid

Look, if we're already dreaming big for the 'Bockers, we might as well dream as big as possible, right?

It doesn't get much bigger—in sheer size or league-wide stature—than Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. The 7'0", 280-pounder is, after all, the reigning MVP, and he certainly appeared a strong contender for the award again this season before a meniscus injury knocked him out of the race.

The only thing lacking on his resume is playoff success, as he has yet to venture further than the conference semifinals. If that doesn't change this season, and Philadelphia fails to land a difference-maker this summer, maybe that would force him to consider a change of scenery.

The Knicks certainly hope that's the case, as they've been "monitoring Embiid's availability," Bondy reported back in November. An interior difference-maker like Embiid could be the perfect complement to a perimeter star like Brunson, and the Knicks have enough depth that they wouldn't need to gut the roster to bring them together.

They would, of course, have to cash in essentially all of their top trade chips, as an Embiid blockbuster might require something in the neighborhood of four first-round picks, pick swaps on top of that and then whatever young or established talent Philadelphia wanted. That's a huge price to pay, but when the potential reward is this rich, New York would gladly accept.