4. Not trading assets
Arguably the earliest Christmas gift of all for New York Knicks fans, team president Steve Mills said they will not trade first-round picks for win-now players, based on mistakes from previous regimes.
The Knicks did not deal top picks under Phil Jackson‘s watch, either, but for Mills to say this, with the aforementioned expectations tied to it, is a positive for fans.
That welcomes part of the organization’s darker history of the past decade, as the picks they dealt usually became high draft selections:
- 2006: The Knicks included a first-round pick in the Eddy Curry trade with the Chicago Bulls, which eventually became LaMarcus Aldridge. The Bulls traded the rights to Aldridge to the Portland Trail Blazers for Tyrus Thomas.
- 2007: Long before Joakim Noah‘s disastrous run in New York, he was actually selected where the Knicks were set to pick. Another part of the Curry trade, the Bulls swapped 2007 first-round selections to take Noah in the lottery.
- 2010: In 2004, the Knicks traded a 2010 first-round pick as part of a package for Stephon Marbury. Six years later, it became a lottery selection for the Utah Jazz, Gordon Hayward.
- 2014: Not as egregious, the Knicks included a first-round pick in the deal for Carmelo Anthony. It became Jamal Murray, who looks like a young, long-term piece that contributes to the Denver Nuggets’ future.
- 2016: Via the Andrea Bargnani trade, the Toronto Raptors selected Jakob Poeltl at No. 9 overall. He’s now a serviceable center with the San Antonio Spurs.
By keeping picks in 2019 and even beyond, the Knicks can build on their young core. Most of their draft trades have proved terrible, but there’s an opportunity to rebuild that faith with the fans. So far, so good.