Team By Team: New York Knicks


Foreword: Beloved Smokey, the long-time GM, and his New York Knicks, have been a rollercoaster ride so far in the NSL. Sweeping trades have been performed each season, as well as wildly fluctuating expectations. First season, sell and build. Second season, add and compete, third season, sell and build. Knicks fans are pulling their hair out, wondering if Smokey is the smooth-talking GM-genius or a mad scientist who is losing his way at the controls. However, for the first time in his NSL tenure, the trough was hit with such resounding success, and the Knicks have gone from a middling team to a short-term pathetic team, and now to a long-term powerhouse contender. What a fun ride! #KnicksFever

Season Highlight: Aggressive, superb trading

As mentioned previously, this was some of the most extreme, successful trading in the NSL last season. The Knicks began the season with DeAaron Fox, Brandon Ingram as their best player and not enough help for them to be a good team. Fast-forward through the season, they bought low on two megastars and then the good times just kept rolling (no pun intended about the lottery luck). The Knicks embodied smart, intelligent trading and evaluation � short term pain in terms of losing for long term gain in terms of basketball impact and roster value. They never lose a trade, and, in these instances, they won big. It was nothing short of genius management and manoeuvring.

Season Lowlight: Atrocious basketball, post-trades

The cost of acquiring brilliant, injured basketballers, and putting your eggs in the �next season� basket, is you still must play the games. The few men left on the roster who were able to play were in over their heads. Plenty of Josh Hart, Drew Eubanks and one of Giannis� brothers minutes, and any able body the franchise had. The result, as you might expect, lead to some of the worst basketball the NSL saw for the entire season, with a losing streak that lasted almost two months. Yikes. 

Best Trade:

The New York Knicks send DeAaron Fox and DeAnthony Melton to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send Vit Krejci to the Miami Heat. The Philadelphia 76ers send Damian Lillard to the New York Knicks.
The Miami Heat send a 2nd-Rounder (Mia) to the Philadelphia 76ers. The New York Knicks send a 1st-Rounder (Orl), 1st-Rounder (OKC) and 1st-Rounder (Min) to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send a 1st-Rounder (Chi) to the New York Knicks

The Knicks trade Brandon Ingram, Monte Morris, three late-first round picks for Kawhi Leonard.

After talking up the success of the moves, I had to have them feature amongst the best trades of the season. Sure, they were of no help to the team this season, but effectively, the Knicks did the following: Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard for DeAaron Fox, Brandon Ingram, DeAnthony Melton, Monte Morris and late firsts. Two 90+ rated players for that package? 

Sign me up! Every. Day. Of. The. Week.

Worst Trade:

As is the way with Smokey, I genuinely couldn�t find a bad trade. Smokey controls the pace and narrative in every trade discussion. He never feels pressure to make a move, and only makes moves because he sees value/as a way forward. I would be jamming a fair deal into this �worst trade� section, and that�s not fair. Elite trading.

Notable Trades:

The Minnesota Timberwolves send Immanuel Quickley to the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks send Khris Middleton to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Minnesota Timberwolves send a 1st-Rounder (Min) to the New York Knicks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves send Thomas Bryant and Saddiq Bey to the Phoenix Suns. The New York Knicks send Jonas Valanciunas to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Phoenix Suns send Naz Reid to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Phoenix Suns send Lonzo Ball to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Clint Capela to the New York Knicks.
The Phoenix Suns send a 2nd-Rounder (SA) and 2nd-Rounder (Por) to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Star Player: Kawhi Leonard

Breaks my heart to write about the great man Kawhi, as I envisioned him being a part of the Blazers franchise, long-term. Where the Knicks could stomach the losses, I had more urgency and more to lose. Kawhi had to go.

The Knicks pounced on the opportunity to grab one, if not the best, two way player in the NSL. Kawhi is a surgeon on offense, scoring efficiently from every level. On defense, where he has made his bread, he is a physical bully, overwhelming his opponent with strength, length and truly elite IQ and anticipation.

Draft Grades (according to resident Draft Guru Nenjabin):

The Knicks drafted some second rounders for other teams but didn�t take any rookies on for themselves.

Looking Ahead:

If you haven�t been reading the Big Apple tabloids and have been living under a rock in the NSL universe, you may have missed the following information: The New York Knicks are equal- favourites to win the NSL title. 

Just six months after one of the poorest displays of basketball ever seen in the NSL, the Knicks are poised to dominate the East and have legitimate claims as a true contender. They have continued their dominant trade ways, pillaging rivals for more win-now, great players and value which will buoy them up, fuel them for the entire season. Damian Lillard has made way for Jimmy Butler, and along with Kawhi Leonard, Clint Capela, Christian Wood and Josh Hart, they form one of the greatest, athletic, physical, defensive starting fives in the entire league. 

Knicks in 6.