A semi-irrational reaction to absurd proposed Bleacher Report trade involving Knicks
A Bleacher Report article involving a proposed trade between the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings was released recently, and boy is this one something. So now I guess it’s time for a reaction to a proposed B/R trade involving the Knicks.
This piece discussed a trade each lottery team should make if they were to acquire the No. 1 overall pick. I really do love the topic of this article, and it was a great read, but some of these trades were just super one-sided.
Would you make this trade involving the New York Knicks and Kings?
One of these involved Portland trading the first overall pick and Josh Hart for Rudy Gobert, which would just be a terrible value trade for the Trail Blazers. However, we’re going to leave Utah trade speculation to Donovan Mitchell.
Let’s get into this proposed New York and Sacramento trade and then I’ll put all of the thoughts of rational Knicks fans together. Also, just as a heads up, I am going to write this trade word-for-word how it was written on B/R:
"Sacramento Kings Receive: RJ Barrett, Emmanuel Quickley, 2022 first-round pick, 2024 top-14 protected first-round pickNew York Knicks Receive: Davion Mitchell, Richaun Holmes, No. 1 pick"
A little disclaimer before I begin: the Kings landed the No. 4 draft pick on Tuesday night, jumping three spots, so obviously, this trade would have to be adjusted. However, the trade still sucks regardless.
Man, oh man, where do I start? Wait, I know! HIS NAME IS IMMANUEL QUICKLEY, NOT EMMANUEL!!! This really bothered me as Quickley is already one of the more well-respected young guys in basketball, just ask Damian Lillard.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, it’s time to dive into the good and the bad. The good would be that New York would get the first pick, and that’s all the good for the Knicks unless that pick becomes Jabari Smith Jr., who instantly comes out looking like a superstar.
As I already mentioned, Sacramento has the No. 4 pick, so let’s pretend the Kings send extra draft capital to make up for it.
Here’s my question about this trade: Why would New York give up RJ Barrett, who in the second half of the 2021-22 season averaged 23.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists while being the Knicks’ best player on both offense and on-ball defense?
Barrett is the best young player on the team and Quickley looks like he can become a similar player to what Tyrese Maxey, his former college teammate, has become if Thibodeau would let him play more minutes.
Barrett and Quickley are widely thought of as New York’s two best young guys and should be the last two people on the roster to be traded.
Look, I get that the only Knick who was alive when Patrick Ewing was drafted was Taj Gibson, who was two months old, but it does not mean that it’s time to trade the two best prospects on the team for a draft without a clear-cut superstar.
This trade would be very, very dumb for New York to make. Let’s hope that the Knicks continue to keep Barrett untouchable, and if they don’t, trust me, we will riot.
