Knicks Insider Places Timetable on 'Big Trade'
A ball will drop in New York to ring in the New Year in the wee hours of Jan. 1. New York Knicks fans certainly hope Leon Rose won't do the same.
Knicks observers of the amateur and professional variety alike have waited for the team to make a move that will thrust them into legitimate contention for an NBA championship. Team president Rose has overseen several impactful transactions (i.e. signing Jalen Brunson, trading for Josh Hart) that have gotten the Knicks into the playoff discussion but if games like Monday's 129-120 loss in Oklahoma City are any indication, they'll need reinforcements to end a five-decade championship drought.
Rose and Co. have amassed valuable, tradeable assets (i.e. six first-round picks with varying layers of proection over the next two drafts) that have remained mostly dormant. But Knicks insider Stefan Bondy of the New York Post feels like the Knicks will finally be ready to barter once the calendar flips.
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"This is the year — 2024 — when Leon Rose finally uses all those draft picks and young players for a big move," Bondy declares. "I’m sure we’ve predicted the same thing in the past (wrongly, obviously), but there are good reasons to think it’s time."
Knicks fans are no doubt used to false alarms when it comes to the transaction ledger but Bondy notes that a variety of timely factors will likely force Rose's hand this time around.
"There’s an expiration date on using these draft picks with likely two first-rounders and a valuable second-rounder (Detroit’s) set for use this summer. First-round rookies are less valuable to the Knicks than to other teams. They don’t need them. Plus, the Knicks are going to have to commit financially to being a contender — or at least their idea of a contender — pretty soon. Josh Hart’s contract extension kicks in next season. Immanuel Quickley needs to be re-signed on a big deal — or perhaps traded."
"Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle both become eligible for extensions in 2024. Those two also can wait until 2025 for bigger contracts in free agency, but either way, the Knicks should handle their big trade business before their cap sheet becomes so daunting and flexibility goes out the window."
To Bondy's point, the pick from the Detroit Pistons, obtained in the deal that also acquired Quentin Grimes, will more than likely be the 31st (the first of the second round) considering the fact that they're well on pace to sit in the NBA basement this season.
Meanwhile, Hart is set to embark on a four-year, $81 million contract extension starting next season while Quickley's future lingers in doubt after he and the Knicks failed to agree on a contract extension before this season tipped off.
Bondy has given himself a 365-day window for the Knicks to make a deal, which of course will lead to follow-up questions about a more specific timeframe. He hinted that more patience will be required, but this time on a seasonal rather than yearly basis.
"My guess is the bigger fish — Donovan Mitchell? — won’t hit the market until the summer or after their teams flame out in the postseason," Bondy says. "So the prediction here … drumroll … is the Knicks finally do their big deal in June or July of 2024."
The upcoming year certainly seems poised to stand as one of the most crucial in recent Knicks memory. In the meantime, New York will close out 2023 with two more road showings, beginning with Friday's visit to Orlando (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
