The Knicks have some decisions to make with the February 8 trade deadline approaching, but the team’s top priority is to become more athletic, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
This plan deviates from the mandate that was issued by former team president Phil Jackson. Under Jackson’s reign, the Knicks were focused on plucking players who fit the triangle offense; by Jackson’s own words, the club was focused less on individual athleticism and more on team-oriented players.
As Berman notes, none of the centers on New York’s roster (Enes Kanter, Kyle O’Quinn, Willy Hernangomez, and Joakim Noah) qualify as overly athletic. The Knicks are reportedly looking to unload Noah’s albatross contract and have received interest in O’Quinn and Hernangomez. While the team is technically in the playoff race, the direction under the team’s new ownership has been long-term development over quick fixes.
Check out other Knicks and Nets news below:
- Speaking to Berman’s point, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone emphasized the Knicks’ inability to match up against younger, more athletic teams. A Celtics team that played four rookies and sat Kyrie Irving beat New York by 30 points. “We need everybody to play as hard as they can,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We’re not the size and athleticism of a lot of these teams, so we’ve got to do that.”
- The Knicks do not appear to be strong sellers or buyers as the deadline near, ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. New York has appealing assets (Courtney Lee, O’Quinn, Hernangomez), talented youngsters (Frank Ntilikina), and first-round picks. However, the club doesn’t want to sell off those picks or young assets to make a playoff push, and also doesn’t want to ditch its veterans and tank.
- While the big news of the day was LeBron James potentially meeting with the Warriors in free agency, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News gives his take on why the Knicks need to maintain focus on their plan.
- Joe Harris has been one of the few Nets whose name has floated in deadline trade talks, but sources, including Harris’ agent, tell Brian Lewis of the New York Post that Brooklyn is not shopping the sharpshooter. “[GM] Sean [Marks] is certainly not out looking to trade Joe. I know that,” said agent Mark Bartelstein. “If anybody offers the right package, of course it could happen; but nothing Sean has said has or intimated makes me feel like something going on.”
I don’t see a team taking on Noah’s contract without including at least one 1st rd pick or taking back another bad contract. NYK is better off working out a buyout.
Other issue is that there’s only a handful of teams that can take his contract without giving back another.
The Knicks should look to move O’Quinn for a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. More than likely he opts out of his player option and will cost more than the $4.5 million he’s scheduled to make. You still would have the same problem next year with the 4 centers.
This way you don’t eat any of Noah’s salary just yet. Maybe he plays better next season and becomes an option for a trade
And by getting another 2nd rounder, I believe that would give them 4 in the second round in addition to their 1st rounder. Maybe they can package 1 or 2 with their first to try and move up
I don’t understand NY’s “plan”. Their pick is not top 10 and this draft is far from deep. If you are not in the running for Trae,Bagley,Ayton,Doncic,Porter Jr,Wendell, or Collin trade the pick.
Disagree