The news is out. New York group chats are heating up as the Jalen Brunson to the Knicks talks are coming into fruition. After hiring Rick Brunson to be an assistant coach in early June, the fix seemed to be in. Another rotation around the sun and we will start our Knicks offseason the same way as usual.
With complaints of what they did on draft night, the misery remains in the air and it will continue throughout the summer. Even after trading a random French guy and walking away with three first round picks, you would think the fanbase would see the Front Office has some sort of plan? Remember the last time they drafted a random French guy? The city of NY was ready to burn. The last of Phil Jackson’s “brilliant” drafting. I am at the point where Knicks fans wouldn’t know a good basketball situation if it slapped them in the face.
Many of us Knicks fans have begged for a Point Guard for years! Raymond Felton, Jeremy Lin, Tony Douglas, the list goes on and on. It’s like the Cleveland Browns QB’s of the past. Now it seems like we land one, and the bitching continues. “Oh he’s not good enough,” “that is too much for a guy who’s not a star,” or “they should get a dynamic wing instead.” What’s the point of performing an ensemble if you do not have a conductor or flying a plane without a pilot? Cool, get a wing with no orchestrator.
Go back and watch the Knicks try to run any sort of offense last year after Derrick Rose got hurt. Random people were running back to bring up the court like it was LA Fitness basketball. It was an absolute disaster. At least we got a guy who has ties to NY, wants to be here, and will be an instant leader in the locker room.
Jalen Brunson in the two games he won in the playoffs without Luka:
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) June 29, 2022
36 points
4.5 rebounds
5.5 assist
67.7 TS%
1 total turnover
Next leading scorer was Maxi Kleber… he’ll do fine with RJ Barrett pic.twitter.com/p8FG8jF8xk
For those complaining and have dealt with the toxic lifestyle of being a Knicks fan, focus in on the Leon Rose/WorldWideWes era that started in 2020. 2019, for me as a fan, was the rock bottom and flat out despair when the Knicks free agency was the laughing stock of the league (in no small part because of ESPN’s antics).
The Knicks have lost 17 straight.
— ESPN (@espn) February 12, 2019
This time next year could look A LOT different. pic.twitter.com/r8H0eKLkGS
Since then they have drafted well, signed moveable assets last year (that they just now unloaded) in Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks, for a path that makes their roster younger and faster.
Now that the Brunson seems to be bagged, the Knicks next two moves are determined by Mitch Robinson’s Restricted Free Agency and what they decide to do with Julius Randle. That money thats pending on going to Brunson they are hoping to get back if they decide to move on from Randle. Whether it is through acquiring players or freeing up even more cap space. I am certain many Knick fans would not be happy to see Randle in the starting lineup on opening night after the way last season ended. For Robinson, his market value has been driven up in recents months and could be higher than the Knicks are willing to pay so there is a path for him to not be with us in NY. Whether it’s through the Knicks not matching or a potential sign-and-trade.
July 1 has not arrived yet, so let’s just let the chips fall where they may…for now. Let us pray and delay the complaining until we see what else goes on around the league. If you focus on this one move as if this is the only move the Knicks make, yes it will be considered kind of gross. With Robinson’s pending move, and Randle, Fournier, Reddish and three first round picks being openly available, I expect a lot more twist and turns in Free Agency to be made before we finish off our summer with an RJ Barrett extension.
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