Welp…it was fun while it lasted NY Knicks fans.
The season is over. This hurts.
I feel like we as fans came into this postseason with much more confidence than we should have had.
Yes, the Knicks beat the Hawks 3 times in a row during the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different animal, and that Atlanta team they just faced is stacked from top to bottom.
It became very obvious, very soon into the series, that Julius Randle is not a true first option on a contending playoff team, and would be best to pair him with another star either of his same caliber or bring in a Batman to Randle’s Robin.
That’s not a knock on Julius whatsoever…he brought the Knicks to the dance with his efforts throughout the regular season.
It’s just that he’s more of a Pippen as opposed to a Jordan, and that’s okay.
As this is being written, my favorite player in the NBA, Damian Lillard, is set to play in Game 6 against the Nuggets and could be bounced out of the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
(Editor’s Note: Dame and the Blazers are officially out of the playoffs after losing last night’s game).
Coming into the season, I’m sure Portland had title aspirations but yet again, the team and organization have failed Dame yet again.
Should the NY Knicks aggressively pursue Damian Lillard this offseason?
Somebody needs to get my boy outta there, and I am praying that the team to do it is the Knicks.
I have written extensively about a possible Damian Lillard trade to NY during this season, as recently as just a few days ago.
It would just make too much sense if Lillard is eventually beaten tonight.
The NY Post has already reported that the Knicks have made their calls to Portland regarding the availability of Dame.
Now, as far as the trades are concerned, the way I see it there are two different directions the Knicks can take.
Based on the report from Marc Berman of the NY Post, the Knicks would be willing to give up 3 or 4 first-round picks in a deal for Dame if it meant keeping both RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin.
The way I see it, either the Knicks stick to their word and don’t give up either of the two young stars or they explore the concept of a trade that would include one or both of them in order to retain more future assets.
Here I’ll be discussing what I think both of those two trades could look like.
Should the NY Knicks give up IQ and Mitch plus picks for Damian Lillard?
This would be the option where the Knicks sacrifice far more draft capital in exchange for Dame.
I think this would be my preferred option of the two even though this one requires the team to lose Immanuel Quickley.
Mitch is entering the final year of his rookie contract and up until now has not proven he’s worthy of a big extension even though I could guarantee that’s what he will be looking for sometime soon.
In today’s NBA, unless you’re a premier stretch 5…you’re replaceable in this league.
As much as I would love to have Mitch here long-term, the Knicks would be fine next year with just Nerlens Noel, Taj Gibson, Norvel Pelle, and a rookie center if they decided to draft one.
If Portland is getting rid of Dame, they’d probably be looking to rebuild altogether and Mitch would be a tremendous center for a younger team to build around.
The other prize for Portland would of course be Immanuel Quickley.
While everyone else believes that Quickley is developing into Lou Williams 2.0, I think he can be much more than that one day and that’s the part of the trade that would hurt the most.
In all likelihood, the picks involved will be middling to very late, so that part doesn’t hurt much at all.
I think this trade would be a steal if it went through.
If the Knicks ended up turning the aftermath of the Kristaps Porzingis trade into Damian Lillard…
Knicks-2 Mavs-0
Would you give up RJ and Obi if it meant Damian Lillard to the NY Knicks?
Let me start by saying that if this trade were to go down, I would throw up.
I would then fall into a deep depression for a day or two, but would eventually wake up one day and realize that the Knicks got Damian Lillard and all would be well.
I don’t like the idea of trading 2 of our most recent top-8 lottery picks so soon into their careers, but if the front office thought it would be better to keep the draft capital moving forward instead of these young up-and-comers, I’d be forced to live with their decision.
After this year’s playoffs, it’s obvious that RJ is a little while away from being a factor during the postseason.
He folded under the pressure.
I know RJ will be just fine and could certainly be a future multi-time All-Star in the near future.
Obi has been coming into his own as of late as well and could be a very dangerous pick-and-roll partner for RJ in the near future in Portland.
Building around those two would be a lot of fun to watch.
The silver lining for this trade is obviously that the Knicks get to keep both Immanuel Quickley and Mitchell Robinson for the future.
I want to close this article out by saying that I am so insanely happy about how things are going with the Knicks as of late.
This entire article and the ideas I’ve brought up in it are not so far fetched and that’s an incredible feeling.
The Knicks are in a prime position to make a move that could make them competitive for the next 7-10 years and I could not be prouder of how much this team has accomplished in such a short period of time.