The New York Knicks, loaded with draft assets, feel they are in a strong position to land a disgruntled star in an attempt to boost their rebuild.
The 2019-20 NBA season was filled with many surprises, including the one that currently has the season in the middle of a hiatus. However, one thing that wasn’t much of a surprise was the fact that the New York Knicks were still one of the worst teams in the league.
In the middle of the hiatus, the Knicks have the sixth-worst record in the league and should the remainder of the 2019-20 season not be resumed they’d be selecting in the top 10 of the 2020 NBA Draft once again.
The Knicks will be making a top 10 selection in the NBA Draft for the fourth-straight time and for a fifth time in six years. Despite that, there is (somehow) growing optimism in and around the organization based on the fact that the Knicks feel like they’re well-positioned to land a disgruntled star in the trade market.
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Why? Well, quite frankly, that’s a great question. With everything that the Knicks have been – or haven’t been – over the last few seasons, it’s difficult to feel strongly about this organization’s current rebuild.
Nevertheless, that’s where the Knicks stand. According to Ian Begley, the Knicks feel they can land a disgruntled star soon, thanks to having seven first-round draft picks over the next four drafts.
"That trade left them with seven first-round picks in the next four drafts, and a young core that includes RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, and Ntilikina. They’ll also have significant cap flexibility, which is partially the result of the short-term deals with team options inked last summer.Because of that, some with the Knicks feel that they are incredibly well-positioned to trade for a disgruntled star if one becomes available.“It’s the best path for us,” one front-office member recently said."
As far as ammo, there’s no question that having seven first-round picks over the next four years is a great starting point. However, it generally takes more than draft picks to land stars. Even if the Knicks were to identify the next disgruntled star, they’d likely need to include one or two of their young, promising prospects.
This is not surprising. The Knicks have always been more inclined to trade for a star rather than taking the slow, methodical way of a complete rebuild. In the past, it’s often gotten them in trouble by targeting the wrong stars – see Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.
Still, there’s no denying that New York has aligned itself as a possible landing spot for the next disgruntled star, whether you believe in that philosophy or not. Question is, who will that next star be?