NY Knicks: 3 questions still haunting the Knicks this season

I stumbled across an article by Bleacher Report a little while back detailing ‘One Question still Haunting every NBA team’.

Of course, the only one I really cared much about was the NY Knicks-related segment.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a whole lot bad to actually say about the team in how it’s constructed or the direction of the franchise as a whole.

Really, all Bleacher Report had to ask was why the Knicks hadn’t done what they’ve been able to accomplish over the past year a lot sooner.

My answer: Easier said than done, you guys.

I’ve mentioned in a recent article how we fans acknowledge how terribly dysfunctional the Knicks have been for the better portion of two decades.

There was simply nothing we could really do about it.

What questions do you think the NY Knicks have going into the new season?

We’re just so incredibly passionate about our favorite basketball team and are willing to both ride and die with them no matter what.

Sometimes…who am I kidding, MOST OF THE TIME to our own detriment.

No matter how bad the product that the front office trotted out onto the floor on a nightly basis was, we were willing to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of our hard-earned money to see our beloved orange and blue take the court.

So to answer the question of why this hasn’t happened sooner…I don’t know, but we sure as hell are happy that the Knicks are finally getting recognized for their successes and are on a path towards something very special.

Now, as far as what I personally took away from that article was that the author clearly isn’t a Knicks fan, so therefore they have no idea what questions or concerns the Knicks or the fanbase have for this upcoming season.

I on the other hand follow the team religiously and I feel I’ve got a pretty decent grasp on what could be on the front office’s mind going into the new season.

Here we’ll be discussing the 3 major questions that I believe are ‘haunting’ the Knicks and what I think they should do about it.

What should the NY Knicks do about Mitchell Robinson?

It’s not so much that I am not sold on Mitchell Robinson the player, in fact, I know the series against the Atlanta Hawks would have looked a whole lot different had Mitch been available.

It’s just that in my opinion, the Center position in the NBA has gone the way of the Running Back in the NFL in that unless you have an absolutely supreme talent i.e. Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Nikola Jokic, teams can kinda get away with plugging and playing a rotation of 2 or even 3 solid guys.

In the NFL, teams are generally gun shy when it comes to pulling the trigger on huge contract extensions for running backs because the position has one of the shortest shelf lives, and generally speaking, most teams aren’t winning Super Bowls when their Running Back is their best player.

Now of course, if you have a guy like Embiid or Joker, you’re not thinking twice when it comes to paying them the big bucks.

But when’s the last time a team won an NBA title with a Center as the best player on their team?

Second best? I’ll wait.

So you might be asking “What the heck does this have to do with Mitch?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

Is Mitch expected to be the best, second best, or even third-best player on the Knicks at any point in the foreseeable future?

No.

But is Mitch on the same level as the Joker’s, Embiid’s, or Towns’ of the world?

Let’s be real with ourselves here, also no…and he never will be…and that’s okay. He doesn’t need to be.

The point is, although there are a lot of reasons to believe in Mitch as the Knicks’ Center of the future, the idea of trading him at this upcoming season’s deadline before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer cannot be off the table.

I get that he’s a special player and the Knicks are lucky to have him.

I also get that he’s reportedly weighing in at 280lbs these days after coming into the league at a mere 223lbs just 3 years ago.

But because he’s not a dynamic, scoring big-man who can stretch the floor and even create a bit for others, if he ends up asking for too much money on his next contract, I’d rather let him loose and take my chances on a few cheaper options to man the 5-spot.

And frankly, yes, it has a lot to do with his injury history on top of just his limited offensive skill set.

Last year he dealt with two absolutely freak injuries but he’s also had a number of little ticky-tack injuries every year since he was drafted.

I have a hard time stomaching the concept of committing a bunch of money to a guy who can’t offer a lot on offense AND gets hurt a little more often than I’d like.

Take a look at Utah for example.

Rudy Gobert is considered a generational, defensive talent, and yet, the Jazz don’t produce the same level of success in the postseason as they do in the regular season.

Because they’ve committed max money to Gobert, they can’t pair Donovan Mitchell with the necessary complementary star to actually win in this league.

They’ll lose ‘Spida’ either via trade or eventually free agency because of this.

Not saying Mitch is going to demand anything close to max money but if I were Leon Rose, I’d rather give two guys between $5-10 million each per year and rotate them and use the remaining cap space towards what could be the Knicks’ next Superstar acquisition or a great role player on the wing for example.

I know this slide is a bit long-winded but I felt I really needed to make this point and for whoever is out there reading this, I hope you understand where I’m coming from and agree.

What should the NY Knicks do with Obi Toppin?

I answered this question in a recent article, but I figured I could double down a bit.

I’ve caught far too much grief for my opinions from people who quite frankly don’t have the same level of comprehension of the business of basketball as I do.

What it boils down to is that Obi was specifically drafted to be Julius Randle’s replacement.

Otherwise, I know for a fact the Knicks would have gone in a different direction had Randle had the same season he had last year as he did in the 2019-20 season.

So that said, obviously, he’s not here to replace Randle anymore.

I understand the people who say ‘Why trade him? Why not have a solid backup for Julius that can spell him on rest days or pick up more minutes to give Julius a break?”

Because the Knicks didn’t purposely invest an 8th overall selection into a guy who was meant to be a backup or one that can only see the court for 10-15 minutes per game.

That’s why.

Things change. Plans Change. A team needs to be able to adapt when they do.

I’m not saying the Knicks should move Obi just for the sake of moving him. That would be downright dumb to do.

But should the right deal come along, say, for a potential Superstar trade…the Knicks should and will be including Obi in that package.

The new front office has shown that they appreciate and take care of their guys but now they’re going to have to learn when the right time to cut ties is.

I have full confidence that if and when the right deal comes along, the front office will make the moves necessary for the betterment of the team.

We have to remember, we’re Knicks fans…not Obi or Mitch or whoever fans.

If trading Obi Toppin guaranteed the Knicks would be that much closer to an NBA title than they are today, you’re trading the kid.

And if you don’t believe that’s the case, then I’m sorry to break it to you but you’re not a real fan.

When is the right time for the NY Knicks to trade for a Superstar?

This is another topic of conversation that’s brought up a lot and it baffles me how many fans out there hate the idea of the Knicks “trading the farm” for a Superstar.

I guess they’re so scorn by Knicks’ front offices of the past that all they want the team to do is to continue building organically through the draft and minor free agency moves.

If you’re reading this and that’s what you believe, I’m sorry but I would bet the house on that not being the case for very long.

It’s no longer a question of if, but when the Knicks make a huge trade. The writing is on the wall, folks.

Example A…they used up all of their available cap space instead of keeping a chunk of it open for next summer.

A telltale sign that a team is loading up on moveable contracts to pair together in order to match another big, incoming contract.

Example B…on draft night, they traded the 19th pick to Charlotte for a future 1st, which they did for two reasons.

Firstly to free up even more cap space for this past summer in order to be able to take on more players this past offseason and second, to have more draft capital to offer out in trades in the near future.

Over the next 3 years, they’ll have 5 first-round draft picks and a whopping 15 second-round selections.

Basically everyone on the roster today will be under contract for the next 2 to 3 seasons guaranteed except Taj Gibson.

That means 11 players that are on the team today will still be on the team in two years if they’re not dealt beforehand.

Where the heck are they fitting 20 new players over the next 3 seasons?

Even if only 10 of those 20 picks are actually good and are deserving of a roster spot…WHERE ARE THEY FITTING 10 NEW PLAYERS?!

Like I said, it’s not if but when the team pulls the trigger on a huge trade. The real concern is when and for who.