Despite winning just 17 games in 2018/19, the Knicks repeatedly suggested they were happy with the direction the franchise was headed. As Ian Begley of ESPN.com details, head coach David Fizdale said that he had heard praise from people around the NBA for how hard his players were competing, and for how the Knicks were treating their players, which was the sort of praise the franchise hadn’t received in recent years.
“In our circles that we travel and the people that we talk to,” team president Steve Mills said, “we know that there is a change in how people perceive us.”
Not everyone is convinced that things are altogether different in New York. One rival executive who spoke to Begley expressed his skepticism: “Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the results on the court before making any bold statements about perception.”
Still, armed with a ton of cap flexibility, a top-five pick, and a handful of other assets, the Knicks are viewed as a team in a pretty good position as they enter the summer.
“If we’re ranking teams heading into the offseason, New York probably has the best tools in the toolshed,” said a Western Conference executive. “Maybe they get it right this time.”
Here’s more from Begley on the Knicks:
- Several of Kevin Durant‘s current teammates have told friends they think KD will sign with the Knicks, and some of Durant’s former teammates think it’ll happen too, according to Begley. The Durant-to-New-York theories are also popular among rival agents around the NBA. “Just a matter of putting pen to paper,” one of those agents told Begley.
- In addition to Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard are viewed as potential targets for the Knicks this summer, and while Leonard is considered a longer shot, multiple executives who are “doing their homework” on free agency believe Irving will end up with the Knicks, per Begley.
- As Begley details, some executives would be surprised if the Knicks spend big on a long-term contract for any free agents besides Durant, Irving, or Leonard. Those execs expect New York to use its cap space in other ways – such as accommodating salary dumps or signing short-term free agent deals – if the team misses out on its top targets.
- If the Knicks land the No. 1 overall pick, it would put them in a great position to make a play for Anthony Davis on the trade market. However, there’s no consensus that the club would definitely trade that pick in a package for the Pelicans star, sources tell Begley.
Hope the Knicks DON’T trade the #1 (assuming they get it) for Davis…can’t seem to stay healthy.
The #1 pick in the draft can only dream of being as good as AD. You make that trade in a heart beat every time.
Nope! If you can draft Zion and put him in a lineup with KD and Kyrie…. that’s their best shot at returning to prominence. Trading that pick and a boatload of whatever talent they have remaining for Davis would weaken the team, and they’d have only 1 spot left for a max contract, because Davis will surely want that extension. Would you rather have Davis and Durant, or Zion, Durant, and Irving?
Davis and Durant
Wrong answer.
Except for it won’t be that number one pick alone, it will be that pick, two others and young talent.
In no way do you trade the #1. Neither would the Knicks. Having a player like AD would be great mind you, but that’s not enough to sell to the fan base especially in NY. Zion will bring back hope of a bright future, trading that future to get a star has been done in by the Knicks in the past and has destroyed the organization. Aging higher priced players aren’t the answer building from the draft and free agency is the safer bet.
Zion is younger and cheaper plus trading for Davis would deplete any sort of the depth they barely have to begin with
The 1st overall pick itself won’t be traded for Davis. Whether they subsequently trade Zion in a package for Davis would depend on what happens in FA, including what possible FA targets might consider signing on and what may or may not provide incentive for them to do so. The only scenario I see where it would happen is if both KD and KI are actually coming.
The more likely scenario (the 86% one) is that the Knicks don’t have the 1st overall pick. In this event, particularly if Morant is also off the board, I’d love to see the Knicks at least entertain trading their pick. Not for a veteran star, but for a 1st in a future draft and lower 1st in this one. Problem is I don’t trust this FO to get value in any trade.
If Durant takes the Knicks up on it, he’ll have done a reverse Durant by leaving as a free agent to join the worst team in the league.
Nets would like to think they’re an option and that what’s obvious is there’s a lot of media-feeding going on by the Knicks’ big-money publicists right now.
Knicks are trying to make this a fait accompli but there’s only one guy, Durant, whose thought process on all this makes a difference. Reports suggest he’s not such bosom buddies with his teammates out in the Bay Area anyway, so they wouldn’t necessarily know his mind.
This could go badly for the Knicks. Say Durant spurns them for the Nets or someone else, and their ping pong balls don’t pop up when they should.
As the Harvey Keitel character offered in Pulp Ficton, “let’s not go bleeping each other’s bleeps just yet.”
It is so ridiculous reading these responses. First anyone knew about golden State
As I was saying, The warriors was a bottom dwelling team until Steph fell into their hands with the sixth pick, and even then they struggled for a few more years, and no we
This site keep posting my responses before I’m finished typing, I have no idea why. Anyway we are not, repeat!!! Not rebuilding by giving them Knox, Robinson, Zion and Ntilikina plus future picks. Anyone thinking this is a good idea needs to check into rehab for crystal meth overdose
Pretty sure you need a hospital if you OD
Not a good posting day for the Native New Yorkker.
I been a Knicks fan my hole life and I just want to say I would not be the least bit surprised if the Knicks miss Zion and don’t sign any superstar free agents