I know I've been talking a lot of shit about the Knicks lately. But in their defense, it should be noted that superteams rarely win championships in their first season together.
Moreover, it's arguable whether or not this iteration of the Knicks is actually a superteam. The way I define a superteam is as:
- a squad whose core is made up of three perennial all-star level players, or
- a squad with two perennial all-stars buttressed by exceptional role players.
I've been saying for awhile that Mikal Bridges is one of the most-underrated players in the NBA. That's something I picked up on when the Suns devalued him for KD, and dude was like a borderline all-star during his brief stint with the Nets. But I don't know if Bridges + KAT + Brunson, would meet that first definition of a superteam.
As for that second, if we were the take it that the Knicks true core is rather made up of KAT + Brunson, yes, they're surrounded by some quality players, but the bench isn't deep enough to qualify as a superteam. With that second definiton, I'm thinking more along the lines of those types of rosters that the Lakers surrounded Shaq + Kobe with back in the day, you know, during their last two championships. During their first championship, history tends to forget that had Glen Rice by their side and therefore qualified as a straight-up superteam.
The funny thing is, this past season, the only squad that had a straight-up superteam was the Suns. Bradley Beal has sorta fallen off of late, you know, if you're looking for a scapegoat. I've been saying since his days in Washington that he was more or less overrated, and now, that's sorta been proven, though to my understanding injury is a major factor. But anyway, as you know, Phoenix, with that stacked core, didn't even make the Play-Ins. There's a lesson to be learnt there somewhere.
After the Suns, if I were forced to name another superteam, second on the list would the Knicks. Talent-wise, NYK has the best starting five in the league. They fared much better than Pheonix but went on to disappoint nonetheless.
But the point is, now I sorta agree with Jalen Brunson. For what it's worth, NYK did make progress this season. They were the only team to have two players start in the All-Star Game. And they made it all the way to ECF, even if they had some notable 'luck' along the way.
The bottom line is, their current roster deserves at least one more chance. What the Knicks should be focused on is edifying their bench and, if any player must go, trading Mitchell Robinson for another defensive big who's healthier. But, once agian this is the Knicks we're talking about, not an organization that's necessarily known for its intelligence when it comes to roster construction. So instead, we're met with rumors of them rather focusing on trading for Giannis, KD or, oh my goodness, Jason Kidd. As for the latter, I don't know exactly how that deal would look, but I hope they aren't actually stupid enough to give up a valued rotation player for a coach who, as if the one that just departed, never won a championship.
Now let me be honest and say I can totally picture a frontline composed of KAT + Giannis. Giaanis is exactly the type of frontcourt runningmate someone like Karl needs. We already tried Rudy Gobert, but the lack of speed between the both of them wasn't ideal. Then there's Mitchell Robinson - tall, lanky, quick and defense-first, someone who, in theory, should fit better next to KAT, who himself is more or less like a lumbering big. But damn, those injuries. It's like even when Robinson is healthy, he's isn't.
The problem though with trading for Giannis is, who are they going to give up? The Knicks already gutted their roster last offseason, and whereas they've added guys like Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet and PJ Tucker(?), I think you know what I mean.
Then on the other side of the equation is, who exactly would the Bucks take back in return? If Giannis goes, I think it's safe to say that would be start of a rebuild rather than Milwaukee still trying to win with the oft-injured Dame as their best player. That experiment did not work out at all... because of injuries. It's always sad to see a team fail just because its stars' bodies are banged up, you know, like back in the days when Grant Hill teamed up with Tracy McGrady. It's like we'll never actually know how good they could have been.
That said, it's hard to imagine the Bucks, say, taking back Brigdes and Anunoby for Giannis. A two-for-one deal like would be more or less fair. But again, there wouldn't be much sense sending Mikal and OG to a team that's rebuilding. And for the Knicks, that would literally be one step forward, two steps backwards, sorta like they did in trading Randall + DiVincenzo for KAT, though that trade, transaction-wise, was more understandable.
And speaking of not making sense, I don't even know why the Knicks would consider going after KD. It may sound like I do a lot of Durant bashing, but let me clarify that if I could meet any player in the NBA, it'd probably be KD. He's someone I actually admire, like personality-wise. He's also an offensive powerhouse, albeit one not known for defense at all these days. Unfortunately for Kevin, his mind is stuck in a past where you could go out and grab two other all-stars and boom, a championship. And even after witnessing the failure of the 2025 Suns, the Knicks are exactly the type of franchise who would comply with some dumb shit like that, you know, assembling a core of three superstars who none of them can play defense. But I guess the logic would be that the best defense is a good offense, supporting players be damned.
CONCLUSION
The Knicks played well enough this season and were entertaining enough that fans deserve a runback. Or if they must make additions and subtractions, let it be on some guru shit, like the Thunder did last offseason.
There comes a point where someone needs to sit James Dolan and them down and be like 'look, we need to choose a path and stick to it'. Even the Trailblazers are on that shit these days. Yeah, it's cool having more money than you can spend and the ability to shuffle superstars at will. But there comes a point, even last offseason with NYK, where constantly making big transactions proves counterproductive. Again, note the Suns.
The Knicks did take a stand bringing in Jalen Brunson a couple of seasons ago, and they followed up by acquiring the services of KAT last year. Now, since they've made those decision, they need to focus more on acquiring players that will mitigate their weaknesses rather than engaging in perpetual starchasing.
In theory, being backed by Bridges, Anunoby and Hart, all of whom appear to be above-average defensively, should work. If anything, NYK is over-talented. But trading dudes to get another superstar does not, all things considered, sound like a viable short-term solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment