The New York Knicks have not reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 and the NBA Finals since 1999. After Friday night’s colossal trade, history may be rewritten.
The Knicks spent a lot of money this summer acquiring Mikal Bridges for Bojan Bogdanovic and five first-round draft picks. Then came Friday night’s blockbuster deal: the team acquired Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, two of the Knicks’ core players who contributed to the team’s success last season.
Forget what the Knicks give up for a second. The move is a bold reversal of years of standing pat and holding on to draft picks. The Knicks may have lost something from the bench and traded away their best 3-point shooter in DiVinenzo, but the positives outweigh the negatives. They acquired Towns, who will click well with Jalen Brunson on the pick-and-roll. They picked up a star who is going to be reliable every game. They have a guy from Edison, NJ, who understands playing in New York. Most of all, the Knicks acquired a star who can elevate the team.
Brunson finally has guys in Bridges and Towns who can take the scoring load off him. That was the Knicks’ offseason objective heading to training camp, and it’s why this offseason has been a success.
In a league with parity when it comes to winning an NBA championship, the Knicks finally have a shot to win it all. They have the coaching and the stars who can score, know how to defend, and will compete 42-48 minutes a night through June.
Friday’s trade adds what has been missing. If NYK had a star to pair with Brunson, the team could have beaten the Heat and Pacers in the playoffs in the last two years. Now they have the ingredients to reach the NBA Finals and win a championship.
Credit Leon Rose, the Knicks president, for putting the Knicks in this position. He built this team by drafting well, e.g., West Virginia’s Miles McBride, making shrewd trades, acquiring OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, and signing Brunson and DiVincenzo, free agents he believed in.
We can criticize him for being arrogant and aloof to the fans and the media. But we can’t say he is a lousy general manager, not after what he inherited when he took over. Rose now has the organization on the right trajectory. The culture is in place for winning. Most importantly, he made the Knicks a destination for free agents and disgruntled players.
It has been a long time since we can say the Knicks have a basketball executive who knows what he’s doing. Dave Checketts was the last executive who knew how to operate a basketball organization, and that was back in the 1990s. That says James Dolan’s best move as Knicks owner may have been making a leap of faith in signing Rose, a basketball agent who has since become a nifty NBA executive.
If the Knicks can win a championship for the first time since 1973, Rose doesn’t have to buy another drink in this town. He will be an icon forever, like the late Red Holzman. Shoot, he can run for mayor of New York down the road.
You bet expectations are going to be high this season, and it should be fun. The journey begins Monday with Media Day, and it could have a happy ending in June. Are you ready, New York?!
