Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
Personally, I favour the Knicks trade. Depending on what their pick ends up being, anyway.
If the Knicks get super unlucky in the lottery and fall to the 5th pick or something, then I don't really hold their deal as a favourite, but just assuming they get a top three pick (fairly likely), this is what I want from them and why.
Players: Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina
Picks: 2019 Knicks, 2021 Knicks, 2021 Dallas
Why? I think Mitchell Robinson is already a solid, rotational player in the NBA. He's only 20 years old and has limited offense, but he is a legitimate defender and rim protecter and has shown a great motor. At his height, with his wingspan, I think he has a ton of potential that we could bring out moving forward, and as a second round pick he is essentially a steal.
Frank is less of a sure thing. He's already a very strong defender and a pretty good playmaker, but he's not really a very skilled offensive player. I've seen him have moments, but it's not all there yet. Being put in New Orleans instead of New York and being paired with a fellow elite defensive guard in Jrue Holiday, I could see that being a very productive mentoring relationship, and Frank really does have all-defensive potential. He's 6'5, I believe, but with something like a 7'1 wingspan. It's absurd.
Knox I think has shown a lot of offensive potential. His overall field goal percentage is pretty bad, but his three point shot looks good and he's shooting that at a 34% clip on a fair number of attempts per game. He's only a rookie, and while he's far from a safe bet, I think he's an intriguing prospect at that SF position for a player with legitimate offensive potential. I do think it's fair, however, if someone disagrees and doesn't see that same potential.
The picks I think are clear: given my belief that we should keep our own picks, this trade gives us a minimum of 2 first round picks every year for the next three. Depending on exactly what happens in terms of the Dallas rebuild, their 2021 first round pick could be very valuable either for us to draft with, or as trade capital in that vital 2021 draft. The Knicks pick should also still end up being a top 20 pick, although it will not be in the lottery, unless the Knicks get AD, Kyrie, and KD. That would be a very solid foundation for a rebuild, and it's important to note that the 2019 Knicks pick could easily become Zion Williamson or RJ Barrett or Ja Morant. Regardless of which one you favour (for me, I like them in that order exactly) they all show potential to be very good players, and possibly even franchise centre-pieces.
Drafting something like Zion and Bol Bol this year, then going into next year with another top 10 pick of our own, then going into 2021 with the potential of 3 first rounders in the first draft that allows high schoolers (where we could easily package picks together to move up, if there's an obvious star we could grab) would be a brilliant young foundation for a team.
I do appreciate that this is something of a 'scorched earth' rebuild, where the franchise is essentially reforging its identity, its make-up, its reputation, and its entire roster over the court of about 2.5 seasons, and I do understand that some people would be against that. I understand that completely, and I don't think other priorities (like a Boston trade that maybe lacks the same ceiling, but re-tools a lot quicker) are necessarily wrong, this would just be my preference.
Reply With Quote
