Getty Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the aftermath of Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard’s historic 71-point outburst Sunday evening, acclaimed sports mogul and lifelong New York Knicks fan Stephen A Smith sent a barrage of praise in his direction and, simultaneously, admitted that he once played his hand in trying to recruit him to the Big Apple.
On a February 27 episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith went on a three-minute-long complimentary spree regarding the Portland star, and, during his sports-themed sermon, he shed light on how, at one point in time, Lillard had an interest in calling Madison Square Garden home.
“Damian Lillard is one of the greatest guards to have ever played in NBA history…I have a long and lengthy relationship with Dame, I got a lot of love for him. I practically begged this man to be in New York City, for the New York Knicks. I’d have given anything for him to end in…the New York market, in a New York Knicks uniform…If he were to depart from Portland the one place he would have wanted to be was (as) a New York Knick,” Smith said.
“Damian Lillard is one of the greatest guards to have ever played in NBA history. … In today’s game … tell me one guard you want, other than Steph Curry … more than Damian Lillard? I can’t think of anybody.”
Smith would continue on by stating that “of all the players that have played in the NBA,” he has never wanted a player to join the Knicks more than he has wanted Lillard.
While having a star of the 32-year-old’s ilk in New York is certainly an enticing and thought provoking hypothetical, through 62 games played in 2022-23 the Knicks as currently constructed have still managed to excel, particularly during this final stretch-run of the year as they have gone 8-2 since the beginning of February and find themselves with sole ownership of the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Knicks’ Starting Guard Position Strong
As noted, a talent like Damian Lillard donning a Knicks jersey is absolutely an exhilarating concept to ponder on, but the club already seems to have found their long-term option at the point guard position in 26-year-old Jalen Brunson.
Jalen Brunson has been SPECIAL in NY.
Peep his top 10 plays of the season so far before the @nyknicks seek their 6th-straight win tonight vs. Boston!
Since signing with New York during this past free agency period, both he and the team have gone on to reach sensational heights together.
In his first season consistently serving as the main backcourt option for a team in the NBA–spent the first four years of his career serving as the Robin to Luka Doncic’s Batman in Dallas–Brunson is posting career-best averages of 23.7 points and 6.2 assists whilst shooting an incredibly efficient 48.0% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc.
Along with these numbers, of those who have logged 1500 or more minutes on the year, he ranks first on the team in offensive rating (124) and win shares (7.4) while the Knicks as a whole found themselves entering the All-Star break with the best record (33-27) since their Atlantic Division-winning 2012-13 campaign.
Though Brunson may not have the moniker of “NBA All-Star” attached to his resume like Lillard, there’s a strong argument to be made that he was perhaps this year’s biggest snub from the festivities, with his own teammate in All-Star Julius Randle name-dropping him specifically as being cheated of a nod when he discussed this year’s illustrious weekend back on February 2.
With the Villanova product locked up through 2026, it appears that the Knicks’ starting guard position is set for the foreseeable future.
Knicks Veteran Not Looking for Buyout
Per Bleacher Report’s Chris Hayes, the Phoenix Suns have expressed interest in pursuing Knicks guard Derrick Rose should he be bought out by the franchise this season, though recent rumblings suggest their desires to scoop him up may not wind up becoming a reality as Peter Botte of the New York Post shared former All-Star’s recent comments regarding his current situation in New York, and suggested that he’s focused on finishing out the rest of this year’s campaign in New York.
“No, I haven’t talked to anybody about that. I haven’t talked to anyone,” Rose said in reference to buyout rumors. “I haven’t even thought about it. I’m locked in to my thing right now. It’s kind of hard to think about something that I’ve never pursued and never talked about with them.”
“D. Rose, that’s a legend”
Julius Randle on how Derrick Rose has mentored these Knicks
Despite being on the outside looking in on a spot within head coach Tom Thibodeau’s nine-man rotation, Rose has still proven himself to be a key presence amongst his peers, with big man Julius Randle recently going as far as to refer to the guard as “a legend” and that “he’s having just as much, if not more of an impact vocally as a leader for us” while on the sidelines.
The veteran has seen on-court action on just 27 occasions this season and is averaging career lows of 5.6 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game.
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Damian Lillard ‘Practically Begged’ to Join Knicks: Report