Winning Changes Everything

No sooner had the New York Knicks parade down the Canyon of Heroes concluded than the focus turned from celebration to concern over whether they could keep their roster together for next season. Unlike players, GMs have no offseason. With James Dolan making it clear that the team would not go into the second apron, Leon Rose was faced with a basic arithmetic problem. He has $16.9 million in available cap space and only nine players signed. The NBA requires each team to carry a minimum of 14. How to divide five into 16, that is the question.

One of those five players is none other than Mitchell Robinson, the center whose rebound off a missed free throw in game five helped seal the Knicks first title in 53 years. Last season, Mitch made just a shade under $13 million. The prevailing view is that he's looking for a pay raise. Now you see the dilemma.

Heading into the NBA Draft, the Knicks had picks 24, 31 and 55. Pick 24 was a first rounder and carried a $3.3 million cap reserve, meaning if Rose had taken a player with that pick, that reserve would've gone immediately against the team's salary cap. $16.9 million minus $3.3 million leaves $13.6 million. Rose couldn't let that happen, so he made a series of moves that surprised even his biggest supporters. 

First he traded pick 24 to the Lakers for pick 25 and cash. He then used that pick to select Sergio Da Larrea from Spain in what wold've been a draft and stash maneuver that the NBA allows teams to get away with to avoid a cap hit. Then he traded Da Larrea to the Mavs for pick 30, which turned out to be Koa Peat and two future second-round picks. Peat was then traded to the Suns for pick 47 in this draft and two future second rounders.

So to sum up, in a little less than 20 minutes, Rose turned his 24th pick, which he never had any attention of keeping, into five second-round picks, one of which is number 47. And he was able to do this with every team in the NBA knowing full well that he had a cap problem. Don't ever play poker or chess with this man. You'll lose everything you own.

So what does Rose do tonight? Does he trade all three of his picks? Does he trade two and keep one? That all depends on what the demand is. It is almost a given that he will trade pick 31 for more future draft capital. But he could use his 47th pick to draft Robinson's replacement.

Let's face it, while Mitch is a fan favorite and an excellent rebounder, the man can't hit a free throw to save his life. Seriously, this guy makes Ben Simmons look like Kareem. Last season, he shot 41 percent from the free-throw line; 29 percent in the postseason. Every team in the NBA employs the hack-a-Mitch tactic. It's not a question of if they use it but when. It's hard to imagine there isn't a center in this draft who could do better for considerably less money.

One of those centers is Ugonna Onyenso from Virginia. He has a 7-5 wing span and is considered an excellent rim protector. ESPN's mock draft has him going to the Magic at 46. If he's there at 47, Rose should definitely take him. The rookie cap hit for a second-round pick is $1.362 million. That's $11.6 million less than Robinson made last season. The thing fans need to keep in mind is that this isn't a buffet, it's a garage sale, and Rose is under no obligation to pick anyone. 

Regardless of whether the Knicks draft a center in the second round or go the free agency rout, it's safe to say that Robinson has played his last game as a Knick. That's the advantage of winning; it gives you the option of thinking long term instead of short term. Had the Knicks lost to the Spurs in the finals, Rose might be tempted to try and convince Dolan to run it back. He doesn't have to do that now. He knows his core is intact. He can fill out the roster anyway he likes.

To a certain extent he's already doing that. Just hours before the draft, Shams Charania reported that the Knicks had re-signed Mohammed Diawara to a four year extension believed to be just over $10 million. At 6-9, Diawara looks like a young Pascal Siakam. It was a savvy move by Rose to lock him up to a team-friendly deal. I expect he will get more playing time next season. Another player who could see more minutes next season is Tyler Kolek, especially if the Knicks lose Landry Shamet in free agency. And then there's last season's free agent pickup, Jose Alvarado. He has a $4.5 million player option. I expect he will opt out and sign a multi-year extension soon. It's nice having options, isn't it?

To quote Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the king." The Knicks are the kings of the NBA.

Long live the kings. 

Imagine What Might've Been

Beginning in 2019, the NBA decided to use a weighted lottery system to determine which team had the privilege of going first in the draft. The decision couldn't have come at a worse time for the New York Knicks, who had the league's worst record at 17-65 and were looking forward to drafting Duke power forward Zion Williamson with the number one pick. Thanks to the bean counters in the league offices, they now had no better than a 14 percent chance of landing him.

Well as fate would have it, the New Orleans Pelicans, the team with the 7th worst record, wound up winning the rights to Williamson; the Knicks got the third pick, which they used to pick Williamson's teammate, RJ Barrett.

At the time, Barrett was considered a solid choice for a rebuilding Knicks team that was desperately looking to turn the page from yet another disastrous front office administration. But while Barrett has been a good, if unspectacular, player for New York, it was the second overall pick, which belonged to the Memphis Grizzlies, that has garnered the majority of headlines over the last three seasons.

Ja Morant is generally acknowledged to be an elite point guard and one of the most exciting players in the NBA. And in a league that rewards its stars the way kids are rewarded with ice cream for cleaning their rooms, Morant has his team solidly in 3rd place in the Western Conference, while the Knicks are mired in 12th in the East. 

Imagine what might've been. Imagine if the Knicks, instead of picking third, went second. Imagine Ja Morant wearing the blue and orange in the most famous arena in the world. Imagine what coach Tom Thibodeau could do with a budding star like Morant in his back court. The Knicks would be a contender instead of a sub-500 team that, with a bunch of middling players last year, over achieved and were ousted in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks.

It is axiomatic that in today's NBA, teams that do not have elite-level talent simply don't succeed. Take a look at the standings. Without exception, each team at or near the top has at least one player that can carry his team. The Sixers have Joel Embiid; the Nets have Kevin Durant; the Warriors have Steph Curry; the Suns have Chris Paul.

Unlike the NHL, which for some reason rewards its less talented teams by allowing them to neutralize the advantage superior talented teams have once the postseason begins, in the NBA, the cream always rises to the top. If the Knicks shot pucks instead of hoops, they'd be the Islanders. Hard as it is to believe, last year, the boys from Uniondale were five wins away from a Stanley Cup championship, and they didn't have a single scorer in the top 40. Go figure.

But, alas, the Knicks shoot hoops, and as it turns out, not very well. As a basketball team, they're not bad; they're just not all that good, especially against the top teams in the league. Julius Randle, last year's most improved player, tries hard every night. He just isn't a star; nor is Barrett, or anyone else on this team.

After last year's early exit, you'd think that Leon Rose would've spent the offseason moving heaven and earth to acquire a star that could've transformed this franchise into a bonafide contender. Someone like, say Damian Lillard, the Portland Trailblazer point guard who, while not quite on Morant's level, is considerably better than either Kemba Walker or Evan Fournier, both of whom played for the Boston Celtics last year. While the Celtics are currently five games over .500, the Knicks are five under. You can't tell me that for the right package, Rose couldn't have landed Lillard. You can't.

And now, with the trade deadline a few days away, it's time for Rose to think big picture. Having a team full of sixth-men just isn't going to hack it. You don't get an E for effort in the NBA; what you get is a big fat L. Case in point, the game against the Lakers the other night. Despite jumping out to a twenty point lead in the first half, the Knicks had no answer for LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the third quarter. They eventually lost in overtime.

That's been the story of this team all season long. Game in and game out, early leads dissipate once the other teams stars take charge. In the end, all the perspiration in the world can't overcome the dearth in talent. I don't care how good your coach is - and Thibodeau is one of the game's best - he can't shoot, or pass, or rebound. Athleticism, or a lack thereof, is the ultimate determining factor.

I've been a Knicks fan since the 1970s. I remember, fondly, the '73 team that had the likes of Walt, Clyde Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and Earl, the Pearl, Monroe. Under the guidance of coach Red Holzman, they won the NBA championship that season. That would be the last title this franchise would win. In all the years since, they've been to the finals twice: '94 and '99, with no cigar.

Great players come and go, most of them wearing the opposition's uniform. In the '80s, it was Bird and Magic; in the '90s, it was Jordan and Shaq. Like the Four Tops used to sing, it's the same old song. The only thing that changes is the date on the calendar.