If last Wednesday night’s loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings didn’t make you pull out your hair, scream, shake your head, and or contemplate how much you believe in this team for the rest of the season, than chances are, the loss to the Warriors, Suns, or the embarrassing loss at home to a 17-26 Mavericks team did. For nearly a month now, the Knicks, yes, the same Knicks that were labeled as favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, have looked closer to the worst team in the league than even a good one.
That’s led to the front office being tasked with two major questions. One, do they think that there are personnel issues, or do they think that the team, as currently constructed, is good enough, and that they are just in the middle of a rough patch? And two, if they do think there are some personnel issues, then are there moves out there that are both realistic, and can help remedy whatever issues that they have diagnosed.
Regardless of the front office’s view, the answer to the first question is a clear yes. Whether fans like it or not, the team is flawed. Few teams are perfect, but the Knicks’ talented roster has clear, exploitable weaknesses. They have only one point-of-attack defender in Deuce McBride, who, despite his development, is still undersized and can’t play full games. Besides Jalen Brunson, they lack real ball handlers, resulting in poor shot creation. The bench, though occasionally effective, remains inconsistent.
The second question, unfortunately, is one that we cannot answer. Fans can speculate, but they are left to social media and media outlets. And even then, they seem not to be able to come to a full agreement for much of the season. Throughout this turbulent season, fans have heard about the possibility of the Knicks moving on from Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as players like Mitchell Robinson and the aforementioned McBride. Whether Towns is involved in a deal for a certain Greek superstar or not, it seems that his defense has struggled, paired with what has now become one of his worst offensive seasons in a very long time, making Towns a likely trade candidate.
Steve Popper of Newsday Sports said yesterday there were “whispers around the league” about New York possibly moving Towns. He added, “His name surfaced when Bucks & Knicks discussed the chance of a Giannis deal, but now league sources said that talks have involved other teams including Memphis, Orlando & Charlotte.”
That certainly must’ve raised the eyebrows of some Knicks fans, especially as the fanbase has slowly, but very surely, started to turn against the big man. But Popper also reiterated earlier this morning that he doesn’t think a trade is likely, and that the team isn’t openly shopping anybody.
That sentiment was backed up by Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, who spoke about how the Knicks are not looking to move any of their core guys and are planning to ride the season out with the group. He did make sure to include the fact that this doesn’t mean they aren’t speaking to teams. New York will still do their due diligence as they often have, and in a league that just saw superstar Luka Doncic traded away less than 12 months ago, you can never say never.
But much to the dismay of most Knicks fans, it’s looking more and more likely that this team won’t be making any substantial changes this season.
