NY Knicks: 3 offseason point guard upgrade options
By Max Hoover
NY Knicks: The Cover Athlete – Damian Lillard
How Does Damian Lillard Fit With The Knicks?
There has been a ton of buzz around Damian Lillard this week. On Wednesday’s Knicks Film School Podcast, Jon Macri mentioned the possibility of trading for him. A Yahoo article came out about his situation with the Blazers on Friday. Around that same time, Marc Berman of the NY Post wrote that the Knicks would be interested at the right cost.
Yours truly even got in the mix a bit on Thursday.
All that is to say, that some of the talent questions go out the window with a player of Lillard’s caliber.
Fox may be the better fit for Thibs when it comes to attacking the rim with frequency and accuracy, but the whole point is to create advantages on the offensive end. Having a point guard that you have to defend as soon as he crosses half-court may not be Thibs’s preferred method of gaining an advantage, but I’m sure he would figure it out.
Lillard has the same defensive question marks as Fox, though. Lillard is top 15 in the league in offensive points added(From NBA Math), but in bottom two in defensive points saved. Only rookie Anthony Edwards has a worse figure.
Fox and Lillard are different means to the same end. Both will increase your offensive capabilities and you’ll try to hide both on defense. Fox does it in a way Thibs prefers, but Lillard potentially offers another gear.
It’s also important to note that Lillard at almost 31-years-old does potentially change the dynamic to a more win-now approach.
What will it cost the Knicks?
“That’s it! That’s the big one!” Clark Griswold shouts after he announces to his family that he is putting in a pool.
It will be Leon Rose shouting it if he makes this move.
Because that will be it. That will be the big move of his tenure with the Knicks.
Damian Lillard has the largest guaranteed contract in the league, and by 2024-2025, he will be making 54 million dollars. There will be contracts going back to Portland, of course, but his 43.7 million dollars next year would be the majority of the Knicks’ cap space.
He also won’t come cheap asset-wise. I would bet money that Portland would start the conversation with a package that included Mitchell Robinson, Quickley, Toppin, and four first-round picks.
It’s a lot.
It would also put the NY Knicks into that top tier in the Eastern Conference. Without a doubt.
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