Brian Windhorst of ESPN was asked yesterday what needs to happen for the Knicks to get into that upper-echelon in the Eastern Conference, and his answer was simple:
“They need to trade for a superstar player,” Windhorst said.
An interesting conversation that gets heated, especially on X, but regardless we’ll address the elephant in the room that seems to follow this team every year. Do the Knicks really need a star to put Jalen Brunson in the role of Robin to hoist titles in New York? It really does seem to add up.
There’s no question, at least as of late 2023, that Brunson is the best player on this Knicks team. The point guard leads the team in scoring and assists while Julius Randle sits in the backseat second in the team in scoring with 22.6 points per night. And of course, we can’t forget RJ Barrett, who’s third on the team in minutes and averaging 18.7. All respectable numbers that are also amounting to team success as they sit fifth in the eastern conference at 15-11. But to Windhorst’s point, isn’t that exactly where you thought this team would be?
Right in the middle of the pack — can easily argue they’d be a tough matchup for a few teams up at the top of this league but they surely won’t win an NBA championship. That’s not necessarily an awful place to be given that it can be much worse, yet we must acknowledge Knicks fans are feening for their first championship since 1973. That’s 50 years ago.
It’s all a process that usually starts with building a strong core setting itself up for the acquisition of a major star or a player transitions from really good to an all-time great asset. Right now, the Knicks have executed the former and have proven to superstars around basketball that this organization is no longer riding off free agent sweepstakes desperation — they’ve built a group to believe in, and now it’s time for a superstar to step in.
And yes, we find Brunson to be a great player having watched him drop 50 this past week, but can we see Brunson going toe to toe with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard at season’s end with his best wingman being Randle or Barrett? Not a chance. The team needs a major reinforcement that doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong with the Knicks’ process — we’re saying the process isn’t complete and the final step would be to get Brunson a true co-star.
Analysts have speculated for months whether Bulls guard Zach LaVine would fit the bill and yet the Knicks haven’t shown any interest thus far. We’d have to guess their eyes are set on bigger fish in the sea. Perhaps waiting to see what happens with LaMelo Ball in Charlotte or Donovan Mitchell who’s yet to commit to Cleveland long term? No one has a true answer to what the plan is for the Knicks — all we know is they’re going to be a tough out per usual this summer.
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