Outside of head coach Mike Brown, the New York Knicks' biggest offseason acquisition was Guerschon Yabusele. The big man wasn't a fit in the team's new system, though, leaving both player and team in a tough spot.
The Knicks, in their typical insanity, found a way to balance the scales for everyone. Yabusele waived his player option, which was scaring trade partners off, and found his way onto a team that needed him. New York expended just two second-round picks to flip him, eventually, for Jose Alvarado – who addressed their needs for ball handling and tenacity.
With the Puerto Rican point guard helping close the Knicks' historic 29-point comeback, the bow is all but tied up on the trade being a major win for New York. None of it would have been possible if Yabusele were content cashing in on his player option next season, regardless of whether or not the Knicks had any plans of playing him.
But his competitive edge fueled a desire to show his skills on the court, clearing the way financially for a trade on the margins that saved the season at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Alvarado's playoff contributions trace back to Yabusele? Sounds like Rose
The Knicks have missed on big offseason additions before. Evan Fournier's four-year contract did not play out the way that anyone involved in signing it had planned. But the smartest and best executives learn from their falls, and what it took to get back up.
Like every other franchise, they do not have immunity to errors. They refuse, however, to be defined by them.
Signing Yabusele last offseason was an error, and not because the Frenchman isn't a talented basketball player. He just wasn't the right fit for a system that none of the Knicks' executives had seen on the court at Madison Square Garden before. They took their time, found the best fit for both Yabusele and themselves, and helped things work out for everyone.
After one more win, though, it'll be fair to say the Knicks definitely walked away from the trade deadline with the best end of the three-teamer with Chicago and New Orleans. But Alvarado could only have helped his hometown team amass a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals on one other NBA franchise – and they didn't qualify for the postseason.
Even though he's from Brooklyn, it's only right that he made it to the other side of the East River. By making it in New York City, Alvarado proved that he could make it anywhere. It just took him a few years of his career to discover that there's no place like home.
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