At some point over the next 12-to-18 months, I expect the Knicks to make a strong push to trade for a young or in-their-prime star.
I don’t know who they’ll target (we know they’re monitoring Zach LaVine) and I don’t know if they’ll be able to execute the trade. Getting to the finish line on these high-profile deals is difficult.
But teams won’t hang up the phone on the Knicks when they call to talk about these trades.
For that, GM Scott Perry and former team president Steve Mills deserve credit.
Because of moves made – and not made – by Mills and Perry, the Knicks have significant cap space moving forward. They also have five first-round picks in the next three drafts (they had two first-rounders in the 2020 NBA Draft).
Cap space and picks are critical elements for rebuilding teams.
So if the Knicks end up completing a trade for a star, Perry and Mills deserve proper credit.
Here’s a quick look at some transactions made since Perry came on in the 2017 offseason:
CARMELO ANTHONY TRADE
When Perry was hired, the Knicks were close to completing an Anthony trade that would have returned players with multiple years left on their contracts. Perry slowed trade talks once he came aboard. The Knicks ended up getting players on short deals (Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott) and a second-round pick that turned into Mitchell Robinson.
WILLY HERNANGOMEZ TRADE
The Knicks dealt Hernangomez for two second-round picks. One of those second-round picks was used in a trade to acquire Derrick Rose. The other second-rounder, along with the first-round pick obtained in the Marcus Morris trade, ended up getting them the No. 25 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. That pick was used to select Immanuel Quickley.
WAIVE-AND-STRETCH JOAKIM NOAH
Noah was waived and stretched by New York in 2018. He is still on the books for $6.4 million this season and in 2021-22. The hope for the Knicks was that they would be able to land big free agents in 2019. That didn’t happen. So this move seems to have hurt their future flexibility.
KRISTAPS PORZINGIS TRADE
This one will be debated in New York for the next few years. My opinion: You can’t fully judge the move until Porzingis plays for a few more seasons and we know who the Knicks get with the two first-round picks they got from the Mavs.
Again, my opinion: Whether it’s with the Mavs or another team, Porzingis will get back to full strength following his offseason knee surgery and return to playing at a high level. So the Knicks will need to turn the cap space and picks they obtained in the deal into talent.
They hoped to sign Kevin Durant and another star with the cap space created in the Porzingis deal. That didn’t happen. If you view the deal solely through that prism, the trade wasn’t a successful one for the Knicks. Mills and head coach David Fizdale were fired midway through the 2019-20 season – the first full season after the trade. It’s pretty clear that the trade played a role in Mills’ dismissal.
FREE AGENCY IN 2019
This is where Mills and Perry deserve some credit. After missing on their top targets, the execs signed several veterans to short-term deals to maintain cap flexibility. Julius Randle has turned into an All-Star this season after a rough first year in New York. Morris – another player signed in the 2019 offseason – ended up being moved for a 2020 first-round pick. One note on the Morris deal: Before Mills was let go, the Knicks had strong interest in re-signing Morris to a multi-year deal. They were less interested in trading him at the deadline. That changed when Mills was let go as team president.
In total, the moves made in the 2019 offseason set the Knicks up with cap flexibility moving forward. Often, it takes teams two-to-four years to undo cap mistakes made by previous regimes.
But after Perry was hired, the Knicks did that in roughly 18 months.
Also, Mills and Perry – continuing a mandate instituted under Phil Jackson – refused to part with first-round picks in trades.
That’s allowed New York to stockpile first-rounders in future drafts. Again, Perry and Mills deserve credit there.
Perry, particularly, deserves plaudits because of the way he approached the Anthony deal.
Obviously, Perry still has a significant role in Leon Rose’s organization. He’s one of the few top executives with significant experience in his/her current position. So Perry has played a role in the Knicks’ moves since Rose took over.
Maybe Rose’s Knicks land a star via trade or free agency. Maybe they don’t. But they’re well-positioned to be in the conversation. For that, Perry deserves significant credit.
