NY Knicks: Constructing the team’s dream offseason
By Max Hoover
The NY Knicks pull off a draft-night trade for Damian Lillard
Bleacher Report recently put together this package for a Knicks/Blazers swap centered around Damian Lillard:
Every “build the right way” Knicks fan just turned into that meme where the guy is sweating over which button to push.
On the one hand, the Knicks are having to give up RJ, Mitch, and IQ in this deal. That is no small haul. Every fan is having traumatic flashbacks to giving up too many young players in the move for Carmelo Anthony. In their head, this is the exact same thing. This is especially true when it comes to RJ.
On the other hand, getting Lillard from the Blazers and still having a 1st round draft pick every year seems too good to be true, especially considering the draft pick hauls that players like Anthony Davis and James Harden have netted their former teams.
Here is the key piece with trading for Damian Lillard: It is a win-now move. If Rose makes this deal, he either believes A) a Lillard-Randle headlined roster is enough to compete for an NBA Finals berth out of the Eastern Conference or B) he thinks he can get there with the right moves with his remaining cap space.
The simple fact is that this team will trade for Damian Lillard if that is the offer. They will then try to surround him with as much talent as possible.
Another key thing to consider in this conversation is what the team does with Kevin Knox. Let’s say the Knicks are able to move him, both of this year’s second-round picks, and a future second-round pick to the Thunder for the 18th overall pick in this year’s draft. Given the creativity pre-draft last year from Brock Aller, this does not feel like a pipe dream.