New York Knicks: The Road to Respectability
By Brad Wier
RJ Barrett is Drafted and the Knicks Wiff on Free Agency, or did they?
The biggest result of the Porzingis trade, besides showing the other players in the league that the team couldn’t keep its homegrown star happy, was that it opened up the Knicks to have 2 max slots for the upcoming free agency. The groundwork was in place, Zion was the potential number 1 pick, and the Knicks had one of the top 3 best odds of landing the first overall pick. The dream was that the Knicks were going to luck into the first pick, draft Zion, and convince two of the many superstars in free agency to join the team, presumably Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
That didn’t happen.
Not only did none of those things happen, but they were also universally considered a loser by media and fans alike for that off-season. The Knicks ended up with the 3rd pick in what was a 3 player draft that supposedly had a drop-off after the Big 2. They ended up drafting RJ Barrett, missing out on immediate stars Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
While that was a tough pill to swallow, there was still free agency. The allure of playing in the Mecca and bringing the Knicks back to relevancy was a dream that sold itself. With Lebron, Kyrie, Butler, Durant, Kemba, etc. all possible free agents there was bound to be a star or two with the grittiness and willingness to take on the challenge of making the Knicks relevant again.
That didn’t happen either.
Stephen A Smith memes were born. Players the team signed were laughed at and the whole league seemed to find the Knicks a joke once again. Instead of Durant and Kyrie, the Knicks wound up with Julius Randle (wait for it) and what seemed like 15 other power forwards. They signed an absolute fan favorite in Elfrid Payton (sike) and what seemed like an endless number of role players for other team’s benches. Players like Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington, and Reggie Bullock. All fine players, but when you hope for Zion, Durant, and Kyrie, and end up with Wayne Ellington and Julius Randle, you can see how the disappointment arises. It was so bad that the Knicks front office even apologized for how bad of a job they did. This led to some changes in the front office, such as………