SPANISH HARLEM – Nothing sends the media into a frenzy more than a blockbuster trade. Making matters worse, it came on the day before the New York Knicks‘ official NBA Media Day . The trade has yet to be completed, so not much could be said about Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo but you knew that wouldn’t stop the media from asking questions. Jalen Brunson didn’t want to add any tampering fines, with Tom Thibodeau joining him. But you also had Josh Hart try to tightrope around the topic while simultaneously providing good insight into the trade.
I think it’s fair to say that some fans loved this trade, while others were sad. I don’t think anyone hated it, but it was difficult to lose Randle and DiVincenzo, especially given the amount of time I spent analyzing how this team would work together. Now, we have to do the same but with #KAT, but the potential is there to still be a great offensive team. KAT will provide better spacing and brings with him the best shooting big man in the game. It will allow Brunson to operate in more space to let him work his magic.
However, it will take to time to build that chemistry, and while KAT is not the worst defending center, he certainly has his moments. He is also prone to silly fouls. But there is reason to believe that if he buys into Thibs’ defensive scheme, we should get the best version of him on that side of the ball. Whether he is playing Center while Mitchell Robinson is hurt or Power Forward when Robinson returns, he will provide the Knicks a valuable secondary scoring option behind Brunson. There is no question that he is the best player in the trade and a multiple time all-star.
It will be difficult to adjust to life without DiVincenzo, who became a fan favorite and one of the players that surprised me talent-wise. He fit the Knicks and Jalen so well on offense when he became a full-time starter. Randle had his ups and downs but most of the ups were borderline great. I appreciate that he came to New York with something to prove and showed out. The one thing I wanted to see is what this group could accomplish to start the season, but things change and sometimes for the better.
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for Action Jackson Sternberg.
