Should the NY Knicks trade for Bradley Beal?
Yeah…I had to do it y’all.
The good news is that the asking price may not be as high as it would have been last year considering Bradley Beal is on an expiring contract now and has more power over where he ends up.
Do you see what I did there?
I just made up a bunch of nonsense to make myself feel better about what the Knicks will have to part ways with for a Superstar like Bradley Beal.
I’ve been on the Beal bandwagon for a while now and I do believe he’d be a tremendous addition to a Knicks roster that ranked 23rd in Offensive Rating last season.
Sure, upgrading from Elfird Payton and Reggie Bullock to Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier is huge but likely not going to be enough to get the Knicks into the Top 10 teams offensively.
Close, but I doubt it’ll be consistent.
Under Thibs, the Knicks play a smothering style of team defense so although there will be some drop off from last year’s 3rd overall ranking defensively, today’s team will make up for it on the offensive side of the ball.
Now, add in a Bradley Beal-level of player and you’re instantly a top 5 offensive unit in the league.
Unlike the previous 3 names, if you make a move for Beal, you likely have to make another ‘win now’ move to make it worthwhile.
The other 3 guys mentioned, I think the Knicks can continue to take a slower approach to their rebuilding.
If I’m Leon Rose, I’m waiting to see if Beal opts out of his Player Option and going after him in free agency, not having to trade any assets for him.