The New York Knicks entered the 2019 offseason with the intentions of signing a superstar to the roster and expediting the overhaul of the team.
Failure to sign Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving put the Knicks in a position of weakness during the off-season. They quickly lost out on all of the top talents and were forced to settle for the second tier of players. That resulted in signing Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis and more. While the veteran signings will be influential and help the Knicks continue to build their team, it could damage their appeal next season.
The 2020 agency will be packed full of talent. The Knicks will likely make a run at Anthony Davis and will have the option to pursue Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and others. However, the question is, can the Knicks succeed enough this upcoming season to justify superstar players taking their talents to New York.
Former Knick, Enes Kanter, one of the more outspoken players in the NBA, commented on why other athletes weren’t keen on playing in New York.
“Not many people know that, but players talk. From different teams, they talk,†Kanter said on Bleacher Report’s The Full 48 podcast. “I’m not blaming anybody. I had an amazing time with the Knicks. But other teammates that I talked to or if they’re on different teams, they always said, ‘Amazing city, MSG is amazing everything is so good, but the ownership.’ They would just keep saying, ‘But the ownership.’ … Some of the players I guess are just scared to come here and don’t even want to deal with that.â€
Management is an incredibly important part of free agency and luring big-name players to any given team. The Knicks, unfortunately, have one of the leagues more questionable owners and he has his foot and every process which can be a deterrent. Clearly, it was so this off-season with Durant and Irving electing to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, a smaller club with excellent management, however.
Scott Perry and David Fizdale must take control of the organization and rebuilt the image surrounding it. Drafting RJ Barrett and developing Mitchell Robinson should help build an argument for playing at the Mecca, but the team is a long ways away from contending for a Championship.