NY Knicks: Passing up long-term contention to win now
As touched upon earlier, Kendrick Nunn passed up on a chance to join New York in favor of championship aspirations with a loaded Lakers locker room. On the surface level, this seems like a substantial opportunity to capture the first ring of his young career. Make no mistake, it is.
However, there’s the added caveat of urgency in each of his two years that he signed for in L.A.
It’s no secret that LeBron James isn’t getting any younger and the infusion of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook put the Lakers in a straight-jacket as far as cap flexibility is concerned. The trio accounts for $120,762 of cap space for the 2021-2022 season.
The reality of the situation becomes even more eye-watering when you deduce that as of writing, Talen Horton-Tucker accounts for $9,500,000 of cap space, fourth-most on the team for 2021-2022. Needless to say, the Lakers window will be brief. On the other hand, despite the accompaniment of the “collective groan” from Knicks defeatists, New York is far better suited for prolonged success.
Wise drafting and savvy contracts have set the team up for years of contention. Depending on how their investments pan out, they could have a larger window than Los Angeles could ever dream of.
The average age of New York’s roster is 25.4 and we don’t need to touch on the widely ridiculed retirement home that the Lakers have become. Their first-round exit in 2020-2021 seems like less of an achievement that New York’s, despite the presence of injuries. The Knicks’ exit felt like a genesis to a story that Nunn, sadly, will not be a part of. Good things come to those who wait and Kendrick Nunn was impatient and made a decision he will end up kicking himself for.