ESOMKnicks wrote:I am for one at peace with the Knicks standing pat at the deadline. Not that I like the path of mediocrity that we have chosen. But at least we seem to have gotten over Dolan's compulsive and convulsive reactive moves, that wreaked havoc on the team in the last 25 years. If there was no trade out there to clearly improve the team then, guess what? You do not trade.
I am glad we have a management with patience and balls for a change. Our day will come.
Knicks made their move first by picking up Cam Reddish. He makes a lot of defensive mistakes and his shot selection needs work but you saw last night vs. Golden State that the talent is there. He has great size, control, and athleticism. I really want to see some line ups with RJ, Obi, and Reddish- 3 guys who can start the break as soon as they get the rebound. Compared to Knox, who never showed any intensity on the court, Cam is a big upgrade.
There's still the pick to consider. The extra year on Cam's vs. Knox's contract is a set off, and the value of a 20+ is a crap shoot, but most importantly, the Knicks look like they have a lot of young guys worthy of playing time. Reddish, RJ, Quickly, Grimes, Toppin, McBride, and Robinson is a good core to build on but lacks a playmaking point guard.
Randle, and Rose when available, fill that role but the Front Office pinpointed it as the greatest area of need over the summer and our off season moves reflected that- both in signing Walker and Fournier and in keeping Burks over Bullock. So far, it looks like those moves were a failure. Kemba looks cooked and Fournier's assist rate is half of what it was in Orlando. Hindsight shows there were clearly better options- not the least of which was Malik Monk who was happy to show us so vs LA.
Given the situation in LA I thought it would have been worthwhile to take a gamble on Westbrook if the Knicks could send out Walker and Noel's contracts on their end. From the Lakers side they would be negotiating their 2027 pick and Taken Horton Tucker and on the Knicks side Burks, Fournier, and future 2nds. Maybe that deal wasn't available- but it seems that given the players who did get moved- Derrick White, Schroeder, Dinwiddie, Halliburton, Powell, Bledsoe- something could have been done to open playing time for the youth and a better PG option than Kemba and Burks. Maybe the answer is Derrick Rose when he comes back from injury. A strong close to the season with Rose in the line up would do a lot to validate the front office's decision making.
And one caveat about a Westbrook deal, as we saw with Harden and.Simmons, once a star has made clear he wants out, the front office will trade him. Kyrie, Lillard, and Beal could all be available. The Knicks could get some lottery luck and get a top pick to trade for a top guy. If the Lakers can't figure it out with Westbrook, he could be available even cheaper over the summer.
This season was probably lost when Cole Anthony took over the Garden. I don't think the team has recovered from that yet. Maybe winning in Golden State finally fixes it.
