New York has an important offseason ahead, fresh off its most successful season in a decade and potentially armed to the teeth with prospects, likes and salary to move forward. as always, Knicks’ The attention of the front office and fanbase will be directed toward high-level stars who are dissatisfied with their current situations or whose teams may be willing to deal with them.
There will be a lot of debate about which A-lister best fits this roster and what the outgoing package should look like, but not enough time has been given whether or not the Knicks should trade for one. Given past deals and the current nature of the franchise, they may be better off avoiding it altogether.
If you look at megastar deals in the NBA, you’ll find a lot of risk with little reward for buyers. The package nowadays includes several unsecured first-round picks and several prospects, all except the team hoping for a championship run.
results are included Anthony Davis And junior holiday Winning championships for Los Angeles and Milwaukee, but almost every other recent example falls short. This season saw Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland disappoint after respective trades Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving And donovan mitchellAnd none are in particularly good places to rebound.
Knicks fans will definitely remember Overpay for Carmelo Anthony, only for a second round exit they achieved without the mega-trade. If they continue without it they will be able to achieve even more.
A potential deal would almost certainly cost New York all the draft capital built up for years, which has turned into used up. RJ Barrett, Michelle Robinson, Quentin Grimes, Emmanuel Quickly And obi toppin, several of those young players Will be dealt with as well.
In return for what? The Knicks need a top-20 player, as their best two players fall slightly outside that elite club, but they can’t get too old or injured and have to fit into the system and roster construction.
that norm basically leaves them with jason tatum, devin booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And jaylen brown, who are all untouchables at this time. Should that change, perhaps the Knicks could go for it, but history has proven it’s hardly worth it.
The alternative is far more attractive. Improving this and systematically growing a still very young roster would give them a major continuity boost, and allow them to develop without ruining their progress.
Most of the Star Trade talk has been about finding that No. 1 man since jalen brunson And Julius Randle Considered largely low-level all-stars and ideal second-fiddles. But Brunson has played like the number one scoring option for two straight post seasons, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Brunson was a top-ten scorer in the playoffs, scoring 27.8 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the field, numbers comparable to Durant, Tatum, ja morant, trae young, And the list goes on. Who really needed a top scorer when we saw him score 79 points in back-to-back elimination games against one of the league’s best defenses?
Barrett made the jump after this season, probably not the last time given his work ethic and age. Randle may be struggling partially because of his ankle injury, but he’s also coming off his second All-NBA season in three years.
These seem like major building blocks you won’t want to mess with, especially in light of upcoming draft-and-development plans in Denver, Miami, and Boston. Those teams also made trades, but targeted, less risky ones.
That option is available to the Knicks, who clearly can’t afford to move on to a bunch of extra picks and rookie contract extensions. They can flip the toppin and opt for Toronto OG AnunobiOr someone of that caliber, to upgrade the lineup without turning the rotation.
The big swing will always be tempting, especially for a Knicks team that now looks one piece away. But such a move has not had a good track record, while this developing core is building one.
New York may be better off sticking with what’s working.
