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Boston Is All In, And the Knicks Should Commit to the Rebuild
Division rival Celtics go big in trade for Kyrie Irving, further cementing New York’s need to retool their roster top to bottom.
There isn’t too much news about the New York Knicks this time of year. Recently, the Knicks pretty much completed their roster with the Michael Beasley signing, and partially guaranteed deals in Hayes, et al., will be a roster spot fight during training camp.
But the big news is Boston’s big gamble for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who requested a trade from the 2016 champs Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this summer. New York was on Irving’s short-list, however, the Knicks made the smart move in keeping their prize Kristaps Porzingis off limits in any deal.
So, the Atlantic Division rivals Celtics have solidified their roster with the addition of Irving, free agent signing of Gordon Hayward, shipping off of Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, and drafting of young wing Jayson Tatum. It’s a noble move on the part of the C’s; Isaiah Thomas is a free agent in 2018 while Kyrie has another year on his contract. (Personally, I’d think the better move would have been cashing in earlier, drafting Fultz and trading Thomas and perhaps picks for Jimmy Butler or Paul George, both dealt during the summer.)
How does this affect the Knicks, though? Well, we already knew the Knicks would be mediocre at best this season, and the Celtics were a good team–they did earn the no. 1 seed in the East if you forgot–but the Celtics are a model for the long-term solution to New York’s playoff drought.
Sure, no team can be perfectly emulated, the NBA is a rapidly changing entity and winning a chip requires both good players and good luck, but Boston followed a nice path of the rebuild. Danny Ainge and Boston’s front office said goodbye to Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, sold high on his vets, and formed his team with savvy trades (bet Phoenix would redo the Isaiah trade).
The Knicks can follow this rough outline. The first move, of course, is trading Carmelo Anthony, a veteran sought by both Houston and Cleveland. Anthony played some great seasons for New York, but one would think it has been beyond time to part ways with the 10-time All-Star.
Steve Mills and Scott Perry’s plan for the ‘Bockers must be to go young and evaluate the talent they have in front of them, while waiting for a premiere free agent talent to materialize at the right moment. And it’s a tough decision to make, too, as those around the league feel Kristaps Porzingis isn’t going to wait much longer for the team to get better around him. But, crucially, the Knicks’ tangible progress in building a good, sustainable team will be more than enough to keep Porzingis upon his unrestricted free agency (which is still a long time away).
One part of the Cleveland–Boston deal that should be very apparent, also, is the necessity for a bench. A solid bench is super important for the minutes the stars sit and the team needs stretches that aren’t lost in vital playoff moments. Both the Celtics and Cavs lacked truly solid benches, and the Warriors exposed the latter’s weakness in any moment either LeBron and/or Kyrie were absent from the court.
The Knicks should take today’s blockbuster trade as a lesson: get ready to build around the Warriors’ dynasty, because a team with one or two stars may not be enough in the league. Building a contending roster, much like Rome, doesn’t happen in one day.
— Reid Goldsmith, managing editor
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