Every year, New York Knicks fans head into the off-season with high hopes, either for a top draft pick or acquiring a star player in free agency.
More often than not, though, those same fans end up feeling disappointed, as lady luck continues to turn her back on a once-storied franchise. In recent years we had the Kevin Durant fiasco, where he chose to come to New York, but not the Knicks, and also the Zion Williamson saga, where the New Orleans Pelicans miraculously scooped the top pick in the NBA draft.
As the Knicks surged through the 2020-21 NBA regular season, the pain of recent years dissipated, but as the team crashed back down to Earth this past season, the yearning for success crept back in. But, according to Jonathan Macri of the Knicks Film School newsletter, the Knicks do have options, and one of them leads to Zion Williamson via trade.
🏀📬KFS Newsletter Alert📬🏀
You wanna get nuts?
LET’S GET NUTS!
Today I go through my logic for an audacious trade idea, why it has a chance of happening, and why it might *need* to happen if New York wants to keep its young core together. t.co/UTLwL9Ztr4
In his most recent newsletter, Macri proposes a three-team trade to bring Williamson to New York, with Julius Randle heading to New Orleans and some future draft picks being sent elsewhere to acquire the additional talent that Pelicans GM David Griffin would command.
“If you’re David Griffin and you’re trading away a guy who has been compared to a young Shaq, you better make sure the roster that enters the 2022-23 season is at least a quasi-contender with additional upside in the years to come. A four-man core of Randle, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Jonas Valanciunas is a good start but is still one piece away from being really dangerous.
Where could the Knicks send some picks and have that third team send a good player back to New Orleans,” Macri wrote before proposing the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, and Brooklyn Nets as potential third teams in the deal.
Williamson’s Injury History is a Concern
In theory, Zion Williamson is the ideal replacement for Julius Randle. Williamson is younger, has tremendous upside, is already close with RJ Barrett, and projects to be a superstar player that’s tailor-made for the bright lights of a big city.
Unfortunately, at this juncture in his career, that’s all Williamson is – a theory. Because in reality, we’re talking about a player that has participated in just 85 games over three seasons, with 61 of them coming in his sophomore year. In fairness, over those 61 games, Williamson did average 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists en route to an All-Star selection.
The road back continues for Zion Williamson
Sure, trading for Williamson will create headlines, and give the fanbase something to cheer for, but there’s no guarantee that he’s the man that’s destined to spearhead the Knicks’ rise back to the top of the NBA.
Williamson is a double-edged sword. Here is a player that is a guaranteed All-Star every year that he’s healthy, who was making good strides as both a play creator and play finisher last year. But, after sustaining a foot injury during the post-season, we’ve yet to see the South Carolina native take to the floor – and such a long layoff has to be of concern to any interested parties.
Sometimes it’s Better the Devil You Know
Julius Randle may have struggled this season, his body language may have been subpar, and his frustrations with the situation may have led to a breakdown in relationships with the Knicks fanbase. But, just a season prior, Randle was considered to be a foundational building block for the Knicks’ future, hence the four-year $117 million contract extension he signed during the summer.
Almost every play has a point in their career where things simply don’t click, where suddenly they find themselves trying too hard, or getting in their own head. Randle could very well bounce back next season and produce at an All-Star level, and he could do that in a Knicks jersey.
👉 A year ago today, the Knicks got their 8th straight win behind Julius Randle’s 40 and IQ’s 20 🔥. Good times 🥲
Sure, most Knicks fans have washed their hands of the talented forward, but at least they know what Randle brings when he’s firing on all cylinders, and most importantly, he is consistently available for selection on game days. The same can’t be said about Williamson, at least at this early juncture in his career, and that should be enough to make the front office stop and think before pulling the trigger on any potential deal to bring the former number one pick to Maddison Square Garden.
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Potential Blockbuster Lands Knicks Future Superstar