Thursday’s trade deadline came and went for the New York Knicks, and the team remained relatively quiet. New York was involved in a small three-team trade, resulting in the departures of Austin Rivers and Iggy Brazdeikias, both of whom were out of the team’s regular rotation. Rivers went to Oklahoma City and Brazdeikias went to Philadelphia, with the Knicks receivingĂ‚Â Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier, and two future second-round picks in return. The Knicks waived Poirier once the deal was complete.
Upon arrival in New York, Ferguson isn’t expected to have a role in the rotation. He’s scored just one basket in 13 appearances with the Thunder this season.
All things considered, the Knicks stayed relatively quiet this trade season. The team made a significant trade earlier in the season when they acquired Derrick Rose, but didn’t make any additional moves with the deadline ticking down. No Lonzo Ball, no DeMar DeRozan, no Victor Oladipo.
And that’s a good thing.
The Knicks are kind of in a funny position this season where they are still in the middle of a rebuild, but also contending for a playoff position at the same time. They have their star in Julius Randle, averaging a cool 23 points and 11 rebounds per game, along with budding star RJ Barrett. After a brutal start to the season, Barrett has turned things around on both ends of the floor, playing lockdown defense and averaging nearly 18 points per game.
To complement the two, the Knicks have a strong core in Mitchell Robinson, Reggie Bullock, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, Elfrid Payton, and Nerleans Noel. All of these players are making an impact on both ends of the floor, and have contributed to the Knicks having the best defense in the league.
This all being said, the Knicks aren’t in any rush to win right now. Although the Knicks are in the playoff picture and have a reasonable chance to win a playoff series, the team is by no means a title contender. The Knicks once again have two first-round picks in the upcoming NBA draft, meaning they have two more opportunities to grab young stars.
So by staying quiet this trade deadline, the Knicks finally started thinking smarter. They realized that if they draft and scout right, they can acquire two more impact players this summer to help the team make a title run a few years down the line. Between now and then, Barrett, Quickley, and other young stars on the team will continue to develop and improve. Plus, making significant trades now could result in the Knicks losing important players in the current rotation.
Things are headed in the right direction for the New York Knicks, and staying quiet at the trade deadline is the best thing the team could do for the long run. If the Knicks can be in playoff contention with this inexperienced of a team, imagine what they can accomplish two years from now.