thelesterlee
The Knicks blew a 21 point lead to the Los Angeles Lakers on national television Saturday night. They sit comfortably in the 12th seed with no signs of a second-half run in their system. The trade deadline is this Thursday. Time to blow this shit up
Let’s rank each Knick based on who should be shipped out of town:
Untradable:
RJ Barrett
Quentin Grimes
Let’s start off by declaring who is off-limits. RJ Barrett just put up a 36-point star-making performance in the world-famous ‘Crypto.com Arena’. He’s the only player who consistently brings it night after night. At age 21, he’s the superstar you build around.
RJ BARRETT OVER RUSS AND AD‼️ pic.twitter.com/9ET7e3GyJn
— ESPN (@espn) February 6, 2022
Quentin Grimes has forced his way into coach Thib’s strict rotation with his rabid on-ball defense and his quick release 3-pointer. I am fully convinced the Knicks could win a title with RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes as their starting backcourt.
Interesting trade chips:
Immanuel Quickley
Alec Burks
Mitchell Robinson
Duece McBride
This is a group of players I genuinely enjoy watching and could be valuable pieces to a playoff team. Unfortunately, the Knicks are nowhere near a playoff team so their value comes in possible trade returns.
If I wrote this last year, Quickley would be on the untradable list but Quentin Grimes is a far superior version of him. IQ is terrible defensively and his jumper goes missing often.
Alec Burks’s ability to play every position and run the offense at point will be missed but perhaps they could trade him for, ya know, an actual point guard. Maybe.
Mitchell Robinson deserves better. Mitch survived Dave Fizdale and Ron Baker. His point guard was Emmanuel Mudiay once. Man never stood a chance. But we see how impactful big men with his skill set can be. Block shots. Catch lobs. #FreeMitch.
All of Mitchell Robinson’s 8 blocks against the Memphis Grizzlies! pic.twitter.com/oUz6DXvnP8
— Ersin Demir (@EDemirNBA) February 4, 2022
Unnecessary Vets:
Derrick Rose
Taj Gibson
Evan Fournier
Again, if this team isn’t flirting with the postseason then there is no reason to have a roster full of veterans when this time should be spent evaluating the young talent and bringing in more young talent and draft capital.
On Saturday night, Malik Monk dropped 29 points on the Knicks. As long as I live, I will never forget Evan Fournier getting beat off the dribble so badly he spun in a circle like he dropped his car keys. We are told young players don’t get into games because they can’t play defense. Will neither can Fournier. Like, at all.
Also just remembered Taj Gibson was on this team still.
Need more info:
Obi Toppin
Cam Reddish
Obi Toppin could either be Derrick Williams 2.0 or the next Giannis. There’s no in-between. Moving some of these other players may open the door for discovery in this case.
OBI TOPPIN MY GOODNESS
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 28, 2021
Cam Reddish has played 21 minutes since joining the Knicks on January 13th. He’s getting the Kevin Knox treatment for some reason.
Send him into the sun:
Kemba Walker
Nerlens Noel
Kemba Walker is so incredibly washed it hurts. On Saturday night, he passed up an open fastbreak layup which ended in a turnover. You can’t be washed AND lose all confidence in your game. At that point, you need not be on the court anymore. Walker gets beat off the dribble 100% of every defensive possession and provides next to nothing offensively. He seems like a nice guy though. Shrug.
Last season, Nerlens Noel played like the rent was due. He is the king of balling out of his mind when he knows his contract is up but once he gets paid, he takes his foot off the gas. Wow, Nerlens thinks he’s me.
Cut:
Julius Randle
The problem with this trade deadline is Julius Randle. He is the highest-paid player on the team which means in order to move him, you’d need to match salaries. The only players in that category are guys like Jerami Grant and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Knicks are in a weird situation where Randle has been terrible this season and trading him will only bring back someone who’s even worse than him.
Fuck it, cut him. Give the keys to RJ Barrett.
