The New York Knicks are a good basketball team. Read that again and let it sink in. The Knicks aren’t the same old team that finds themselves being the butt of NBA jokes, which may take some time for non-Knicks fans to get used to.
New York has been ridiculed for not landing a star in free agency (like Kevin Durant in 2019) and most recently, opting to not trade for Donovan Mitchell. With their first-round picks in hand, the Knicks are on the lookout for the next disgruntled star to make a run at. It didn’t happen at this year’s trade deadline, although there was a rumor that New York was in talks with Chicago for Zach LaVine. Luckily, that’s a deal that didn’t happen.
Instead of pushing all of their chips in for a player like LaVine, the Knicks sent a protected first-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Josh Hart. Although it was assumed that the team would be more active ahead of the deadline, New York ended up making only one move. So far, it’s one that’s paid off as the team gears up for a playoff push.
But because the Knicks are the Knicks, it’s only right to assume that what the front office did (or didn’t do) at the trade deadline wasn’t enough.
Bleacher Report criticizes Knicks for trade deadline decisions
In a piece titled ‘Decisions the Knicks Should Already Regret from the Trade Deadline,’ Bleacher Report listed these three reasons in an attempt to back up the headline:
- Not Snagging a Spacer
- Not Clearing out Bad Contracts
- Leaving Obi Toppin in Limbo
At the beginning of the piece, Zach Buckley wrote:
"They swung a trade for swingman Josh Hart—sacrificing Cam Reddish and a protected first-round pick in the process—but that was all. It’s a helpful trade but hardly a transformational one.Should New York have done more? There’s an argument for it, and it’s one of several this front office may already regret."
As Buckley noted in the piece, the Knicks didn’t move on from Evan Fournier or Derrick Rose’s contracts. While signing Brunson in free agency was a home run, giving Fournier a four-year, $78 million contract in free agency the year before was a mistake by the front office. His on-court production doesn’t match what he’s being paid. While he could’ve been traded ahead of the deadline, the lack of interest from opposing teams is likely what kept him in New York.
Fournier, Rose, and Obi Toppin could be used in the offseason in larger moves, perhaps one that would involve the Knicks trading for their long-awaited star player. Toppin deserves to have a larger role than the current one that he has in New York, but from the front office’s perspective, there isn’t a rush to send him packing.
Patience is the name of the game here. If the front office would’ve traded away multiple first-round picks for a player like LaVine or even OG Anunoby, the Knicks would’ve gotten clowned for it. When it comes to the media, most things are a lose-lose situation for New York.
Are the Knicks regarded as one of the top teams in the league? No. Should the Knicks be regarded as one of the best teams in the league? Maybe. Is it okay to acknowledge that the Knicks are a far better team than they were in recent years? Yes. Like any other front office, New York’s goal is building a championship-caliber team. That isn’t something that happens overnight. The team is still without the star player that will help get them over the hump, but they’re in a pretty good spot right now.
New York isn’t perfect, but it’s time to stop pretending that the front office is incompetent. Leon Rose was the driving force behind signing Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract in free agency. It should be noted that was a move that was laughed at by some claiming that Brunson was “overpaid” but look at how that narrative has played out.
It’s okay to admit that this Knicks team is different. While the front office has made mistakes, it’s okay to admit when they do something good. The trade deadline wasn’t what many expected it would be for the Knicks, but that isn’t a bad thing. But hey, Knicks for clicks, right?
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