Never forget your mission.
of new york knicks I want to exchange for a star. Please do not sign. Don’t increase draft chances. They want to trade one thing and then another.
Evaluate the front office in that context.
That’s why the Knicks turned the No. 19 pick into a future first-round pick on 2021 NBA Draft Night. That’s why they traded his No. 11 pick for his three future first picks the following summer. That’s why they signed veterans in hopes of being competitive enough to land on the headliner’s vaunted list.
Nick’s Leadership is a 1990s teenage band. They just want someone to have them. That’s why they’ve been holding onto all of their picks, and why they’ve held onto young players so tightly they don’t spin them. Donovan MitchellLosing too many of them along with too many draft picks The second Stars — And to paraphrase what the general manager once told me, the price of having one star is two stars.
Knicks president Leon Rose spoke of the organization’s long-term flexibility while hinting at its plans during several public appearances on the team’s television network. The star package consists of young talent and many picks. The Knicks have both, so that means they’re doing well.
But what if the team has flexibility within plan A but chooses not to create plans B and C?
You may then see a report similar to the following: athleticShams Charania of wrote on Friday: Knicks ‘expressed willingness to discuss’ prospective guard, Immanuel Quickleyin a transaction.
Quickley has not shot in the Knicks’ first 18 games. His efficiency has plummeted since his rookie season, but he has improved significantly as a defender. He is one of the team’s best helpers and is useful in guarding the dribbler. he picked up the pace loose ball devilQuickley has been an unexpected trend since bursting onto the scene in the 2020-21 season. too contradictory.
Still, the Knicks are steadily getting better when he plays. Still, he rides cleanly on the trade block.
After years of front office roughing up young guys, why did Quickly suddenly become expendable?
It’s hard to ponder Knicks’ philosophy without going back to the grand scheme of things.
The Knicks have waited long enough for young players who hoped to form the core of the big-time trade to look for what makes them most attractive: stars who are about to lose their cheapness.
Whatever the specific reason the Knicks are heeding Quickly’s offer, remember how past moves fit into Plan A. The Knicks turned his 19th pick in 2021 into his future first-round pick. Because at that time they believed in hope. The dream that draft picks represent is more glamorous in trades with stars than actual human certainty, and that’s what they had if they drafted at No. 19. Information around the league Sources say the Knicks are targeting a future first-round pick as a return to Quickley, who is eligible for a contract extension this summer.
So everything makes sense.
Maybe the fictitious Quickley trade won’t be a draft pick. Maybe the Knicks trade him for something that will help them today. Maybe they’re including him in a bigger package. Retire with New York at heart. Who knows how this will end?
Organizations are always talking about deals with other teams. Until they’re official, they’re not worth evaluating. But based on the status of Quickley’s contract and the fact that the Knicks are telling other teams they want him back, this is a check on that long-term plan and how 23 years will work. It’s the perfect time for.-Old Guard fits into it.
Qualifying for an extension is a big milestone for young players.Quickly is cheap this season and next, but once he gains market value (or at least the organization can threaten that they have to pay him for it) they want him in the deal. Anyone who thinks about him will think differently about him. obi toppinwho are eligible for an extension in the summer of 2023.
If the Knicks get their star player in July or August, whichever team they’re talking to, they’ll likely prefer additional picks over role players looking for rewards.Similar conversations surrounded utah jazz When RJ Barrett This past offseason, Utah ended up playing for Barrett.
The current front office has appreciated the talent in past trade talks, even if it hasn’t shown any confidence in clearing its roster to allow young members to play in abundance.The Knicks decided to re-sign him last season after seeing the team move with a different energy around Toppin Mitchell Robinsonaddition Isaiah Hartensteinresigned Jericho Sims cling Julius RandleHe blocks Toppin’s path again.they clung Evan Fournier When Derrick Rose And now overloaded with guards, enough to injure cam reddish on weekends just to get Quentin Grimes Back in rotation. If he trades one of the rotation players without returning one of him (such as flipping the guard for his pick in the draft), the situation improves. Charania reports that Rose is also a way to get to trade blocks as well.
But Quickley’s case prompted more rumination on the Knicks’ swing-for-the-fence ideology than Rose’s.
Rose is 34 years old and plays 13 minutes per game. His contract expires this season. Quickley, on the other hand, should be part of the future. Still, keeping him could mean pinning him to a middling roster.
The Knicks cap sheet is not as flexible.
In 2024-25, which will be the first season of a Quickley or Toppin extension, just Jalen Branson, Julius Randle, Robinson, Barrett and Grimes total $97 million. Hypothetically, let’s say the Knicks re-signed Quickley and Toppin each on a near-mid-level exception. That would put them in a $120 million ballpark to pay less than half the roster.
That season’s cap is projected to be around $140 million, but that doesn’t mean the team has $20 million to spare. Red Dish (free agency after this season), Hartenstein (free agency in 2024), Sims (has cheap non-guarantees in 2024, which the Knicks will almost certainly bring back in this scenario) (25 seasons).
All this for a group that looks to be emerging as a promising group for play-in tournaments so far. composition, which is unnaturally harmonious. It’s not like the Knicks can easily trade anyone in that quintet for Quickly in the hopes of wiping long-term money out of the book. , or Quickly is too expensive to order such favorable returns as is hypothetically possible.
Nicks saw the modern fashions demanded by stars before reaching free agency and thought the best way to take advantage of the new norm was to set himself up for the trade. Be competitive enough to boast desirable basketball conditions in a diverse market and be chosen by big names. brooklyn nets was Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant When James Harden or LA Clippers was Paul George When Kawai Leonard or los angeles lakers was Anthony Davisand so on.
But all of these examples occurred in situations where teams were flexible enough to do more than just trade someone. The Nets had cap room to sign Irving and Durant, then used excess players and picks to deal with Harden. The Clippers traded George but signed Leonard.Lakers traded Davis, but only after they signed lebron james.
In reality, the Knicks’ envisioned flexibility only extends to trading their first star player. If getting Mitchell bares too much cupboard to trade for a second star, the next available star that is the same or more than Mitchell and therefore costs the same or more than Mitchell The front desk leaves his office and engages in the same work. conversation.
How can you trade all this great stuff for this great player when you can hardly afford to have him as a co-star?
It feels like this cycle could go on forever.
The Knicks gave little room to deviate from Plan A. And now they are discussing Quickly.
They don’t tank, so they’re more likely to draft stars. The organization could have a fortune with his 15th pick, but there’s a reason for Leonard and picks like Leonard. Giannis Antetokounmpo what we are amazing. they are not standard. In the meantime, they’ve locked up their roster with enough long-term money that it takes some serious cap gymnastics to sign one (and some of the bigger contracts in the book with first-round picks). increase).
Gymnastics isn’t easy if you’re not as flexible as you claim to be.
(Quickly top photo: Albero/Getty Images)
