The New York Knicks 2020-2021 NBA season has been over for four days, which means we are officially in the offseason. Also, it is time to talk about free agency and trades, more specifically, trading for Boston Celtics all-star wing Jaylen Brown.
The New York Knicks should trade for Jaylen Brown
There are a lot of guys the Knicks can target via trade this offseason, one being Damian Lillard. My fellow DailyKnicks writer Bradley Dressler speculates with two ideas on how to land Lillard.
Brown should be the Knicks’ number one target by all means though, and it appears that acquiring him might not be impossible. Former ESPN insider Jeff Goodman was also told by an anonymous NBA player that the Celtics cannot win with a core of Jayson Tatum and Brown, as they do not make their teammates better.
That player was completely correct about Tatum and Brown’s fit, it just is not very good. This is not knocking either player, they’re two young All-Stars who both have tremendous scoring and defensive abilities, but they play very similarly.
Watching Brown and Tatum share the floor is a weird fit, the two look like they switch off who gets to be the main option, and then the other will have a fairly quiet night by their standards.
This will not work in the era of great NBA duos and the trios of the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. Star players need to complement each other’s games and Tatum and Brown do not do that at all.
The Knicks must pounce on this. Jaylen Brown is incredibly perfect for this Knicks roster. The main issue is his cost, and Boston will prefer talent in return for Brown over the plethora of draft capital the Knicks hold.
This would probably have to be a three-team trade. If Damian Lillard were to be traded, Boston could become a potential suitor and the Knicks might be able to give a lot of picks to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Brown, as Portland would only have 3 guaranteed years of Jaylen Brown before he hits free agency.
This puts the Knicks in a prime position to be the third team here and give Portland a ton of assets to start their rebuild.
It is worth giving a lot for Jaylen Brown, and here is why.
Jaylen Brown fits the New York Knicks’ Timeline
The top names that I have seen Knicks fans hoping to lure to the Mecca are Damian Lillard and Kawhi Leonard. Obviously, that would be great to land one of them, but the Knicks are not built for contention.
Adding Kawhi or trading for Lillard does not make the Knicks better than the Bucks, Nets or 76ers. The Knicks will still need a miracle to beat any of these three teams in the playoffs, even if they land one of those two Western Conference superstars.
Jaylen Brown is 24 years old, which is 2 years younger than Julius Randle and 4 years older than RJ Barrett, the Knicks’ two best offensive players.
Brown sandwiches in perfectly age-wise, giving the Knicks an All-Star player who would get more scoring opportunities in New York while leading them to be a solid playoff team that is going to improve as Brown and Barrett age into their primes.
Adding Brown also solves the issue the Knicks have had with small forwards since Carmelo Anthony was traded in 2018. The Knicks will have an incredible young core of Brown, Barrett, and Mitchell Robinson in the starting 5, with an All-Star 26-year-old Julius Randle leading them. There would still be questions about the Knicks point guard position, but outside of that, the Knicks will have basically every position covered for the long haul.
Jaylen Brown is a top Perimeter Defender
Jaylen Brown is a top perimeter defender in the NBA playing for a team that plays a fast-paced, offensive style. Brown is also a better perimeter defender than anyone on the Knicks. The only person who can contend defensively on the Knicks on the perimeter is Frank Ntilikina, who gets almost zero playing time.
The New York Knicks were 3rd in Defensive Rating this season, largely due to 2021 Coach of The Year Tom Thibodeau’s otherworldly abilities to coach defense. The Knicks still need a guy who is a defensive stopper, and Brown has serious potential to do that.
RJ Barrett and Reggie Bullock are both good perimeter defenders in a team-defensive-scheme like the one Thibodeau runs, but it is not enough. The Atlanta Hawks made it very clear the Knicks do not have a guy to guard the best offensive player on opposing teams.
Brown’s one defensive knock is his ability to play team defense. He is known to at points get lazy and not always make the heads-up plays. That will not fly with Tom Thibodeau. Thibs will force Brown to be his best defensive self, which would be a scary weapon to have.
Brown’s defensive issues are coachable, and the Knicks have the NBA Coach of The Year, so those issues will probably be gone before the regular season starts.
Jaylen Brown Adds Much Needed Shot Creation
Shot creation was the New York Knicks’ biggest issue all season long. Nobody outside of Julius Randle and Alec Burks could create their own shot on offense for the Knicks.
Though it does look like both RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have the potential to become solid shot creators, they are not there yet.
Jaylen Brown’s offensive abilities have improved on a yearly basis, becoming a more and more lethal scorer as he gets older. As made clear when discussing team needs after being eliminated by Atlanta, the Knicks need more knockdown shooters. Though Brown does not specialize in shooting, he still shot career highs in all shooting areas, with 48%/40%/76% splits.
If the Knicks can add Brown to the starting lineup, it adds a much-needed jolt of offense while also taking pressure off of Julius Randle, making it much harder for teams to double team him. Brown can spot up and hit threes or isolate and give the team instant-baskets when the offense stalls, fixing their biggest offensive weakness.