The New York Knicks followed up a season in which they made the playoffs with an absolute disaster, and this comes after making what seemed to be big upgrades in the offseason.
Evan Fournier has been a solid addition, albeit on a contract bigger and longer than many fans would’ve wanted, but Kemba Walker has been a major disappointment.
Walker is sitting out the remainder of the season and will more than likely be moved in the offseason, but the Knicks have plenty of other areas to address as well.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley created a list of things the Knicks need to change if they miss the playoffs, and that scenario is looking like a near certainty at this point.
One of the priorities is to shed veterans and get their answer at point guard. That’s easier said than done as the Knicks haven’t had a prominent lead guard in years now. Perhaps this could be the offseason it happens.
Trade for Damian Lillard
GettyDamian Lillard could find a new home.
A name that is constantly linked to the Knicks is Damian Lillard, and that won’t ever seem to stop.
With Portland on the verge of a total rebuild, there’s a sense that Lillard could want out of the pacific northwest, despite all of his public comments saying the opposite.
“New York needs to swing big here. Maybe that’s a bold trade for Damian Lillard,” wrote Buckley. “It could be a free-agency splurge on Jalen Brunson. Perhaps the ping-pong balls bounce just right and Jaden Ivey falls in their laps.”
If the Knicks aren’t able to land Lillard, there are other options at point guard for them, whether it’s through the draft with Ivey or free agency with Brunson.
Another thing Buckley wants the Knicks to do is get rid of their high-priced veterans like Fournier and Walker, or even Julius Randle if the right offer came along. This could happen in a Damian Lillard trade.
“If someone wants to sell the farm for Julius Randle, the Knicks should let them,” he wrote. If not, they should be shopping any combination of Kemba Walker, Alec Burks, Evan Fournier and Nerlens Noel.”
New Coach
RJ Barrett on Coach Thibs-
“He’s a great coach. We all love him. We all play hard for him”.
“I’ve gotten a lot better while playing for him.”
It seems like the Knicks are going to hold off on firing Tom Thibodeau, but Buckley believes that is a mistake.
“The Knicks should just pull the plug,” he says. “Sure, he’s the reigning Coach of the Year and pulled a lot of the right strings last season, but even then his team’s defense and hustle couldn’t compensate for his offensive shortcomings. Other than maybe Barrett, the young players on this roster aren’t improving and a lot of the older ones aren’t doing enough to justify the workloads given to them by Thibodeau.”
Under Thibodeau, Barrett has blossomed into somebody who can become a real star, and he the young guard credits his coach for that.
“I’ve gotten a lot better while playing for him and his staff as a whole,” Barrett said.
There’s definitely a chance he could be even better with a different coach, but he seems happy with who he has at the moment.
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Knicks Urged to Make Bold Trade for 6-Time All-Star PG, Unload Kemba & Fournier