Leon Rose and the New York Knicks ended another offseason where they were expected to land an All-Star player and they’ve now entered the 2022-23 season without that player. It sucks, but there will be more stars, and we should look at future trade targets that Leon Rose could have his eye on.
The Knicks missed out on Donovan Mitchell, but it is not the end of the world, and I’m happy they did not make a vast overpay for him. Donovan is great, but he is not worth giving the whole farm for. Brunson, Mitchell, Reddish, Randle, and Robinson would not do anything in the playoffs, and Tom Thibodeau would lose his mind with how bad that defense would be.
What hurts the most is that Donovan Mitchell clearly thought he was headed to New York. By the way he discussed it, he definitely wanted to go back home in comparison to having to live in one of the worst states in America. Luckily for Donovan, the Cleveland Cavaliers are better than the Knicks, so there’s that.
Do the Knicks have a chance to land a star player in the coming years?
The Knicks will have to look elsewhere if they want to land a star player, but that will not happen immediately. We’re going to look at a few different players who may or may not become available throughout the next 1-5 years.
When a team is instantly ready to contend, trading for a superstar should always be done. Teams should only trade for a top NBA talent when they know they can make a potential run as soon as the following year.
The Lakers knew that LeBron James was the best player in the NBA in 2019, so they gave everything they had to pair him with Anthony Davis, and they won the finals the next year (Side Note: If you say that their finals run does not count because it’s a “Mickey Mouse bubble ring”, just say you cannot stand to see LeBron James succeed because you are a loser).
The Knicks are not ready to contend, which is why we’re going to look at some targets, specifically one guy who will not be available for a few years. All of these players would need a reason to want out, excluding a guy like Jayson Tatum, who is young and in a perfect position and will probably never leave the Boston Celtics.
Anyways, let’s take a look at some guys I believe Leon Rose is monitoring, as Leon is still The Godfather of New York Basketball, and he definitely has a plan. Some are more likely than others, but all could potentially happen.