5. Missing The Point Of A Trade
The point of a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers would be potentially pairing Kyrie Irving with Kristaps Porzingis. That dynamic duo would push the New York Knicks into the realm of relevance and potentially enable it to contend for years to come.
By trading Porzingis for Irving, the Knicks would find themselves in the same position they’re in right now—just with a better scorer and a vastly inferior defender.
If New York were to trade Porzingis for an established All-Star, it would be accelerating its timeline. That may be an ideal turn of events in theory, but this isn’t as simple as acquiring an All-Star and moving forward with a contender.
The Knicks would still have a core of 25 and under players, and the only significant exceptions would be a 33-year-old Carmelo Anthony and a soon-to-be 32-year-old Courtney Lee.
A hypothetical starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Lee, Anthony, and Willy Hernangomez would be solid. It wouldn’t contend for a championship, however, and both Anthony and Lee have rather small windows.
Anthony and Irving would be a dynamic duo, but trading Porzingis for temporary success would be irrational when another rebuild could be necessary as soon as 2018.