At some point, and probably soon, star players are going to start eyeing the New York Knicks and free agency and maybe even demanding trades to the Knicks, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
And that makes sense. The Knicks are clearly on the rise under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau. Their president of basketball operations, Leon Rose, is a former big-time agent.
The Knicks have hope and play in the media capital of the world. That tends to make players want to move there.
“Here’s the thing — they have one of the top former agents in the league running the organization in Leon Rose,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast, via RealGM.
“Their (No. 2 executive), I’m not sure what Wes Wesley‘s title is, but his specialty is relationship-building with players. Even if it has waned a little bit as he’s gotten older, his specialty is relationship-building. And I don’t want to say ‘backroom dealing’ because that implies that it is sinister. But he’s known for working in the shadows.”
There’s more.
“They play in New York City. They have an abundance of draft picks, young assets and cap space. The only sort of flaw in here is I’m not sure every player wants to play for Thibs, but there are some who like them,” Windhorst said.
All of it may add up to some of the NBA’s best players finally looking at the Knicks as a real destination.
“I say within the next 12 months a star, slash, superstar player demands a trade to New York,” Windhorst predicted. “And I don’t know who it’s going to be. I have some guesses. I’m not going to say right here. I’ll let you guys start thinking about that. Let’s just put it this way — league executives certainly have some guesses.
“I say by next year’s trade deadline a superstar, an All-Star tries to force his way there. They’re going to be in position to do that type of trade and maybe that’s where Julius Randle comes in [as a trade piece].”
