The New York Knicks once again floundered near the bottom of the standings in the 2019-20 NBA season – which isn’t exactly surprising given the current state of the disenchanted franchise.
Judging by the Knicks’ current makeup looks like they are bound to repeat the same grim fate if drastic changes won’t be made within the team’s core.
The New York brass took a step in the right direction with the hiring of Leon Rose as team president. The revered sports agent will look to make a huge splash in his first year, possibly by acquiring an All-Star caliber player even if it means taking in a bad contract.
The only thing the ‘Bockers have going on next season would be the huge cap space they could potentially have. The Knicks can have as much as $60 million in cap room depending on how they’ll handle the contract options of Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson, and Reggie Bullock this offseason.
Plus, New York owns three picks in the upcoming 2020 Draft, and they could do a lot of good with the No. 8, No. 27, and No. 38 selections.
To simply put it, the Knicks need a bonafide star to at least get a semblance of relevance. It’s evident that re-building isn’t their thing. The team has some nice young pieces in RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and Julius Randle, but that trio won’t get them anywhere without one go-to guy to man the ship.
Trading for a big-time name with an inflated contract obviously poses a lot of risks. However, this might just be the Knicks’ only chance to acquire one, considering blue-chip free agents haven’t exactly been lining up to sign in The Big Apple in recent years.
The Knicks were rumored to go after Chris Paul, but it might be tricky since the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t give him up for a straight-forward salary dump.
Let’s have a look at three impact players with bad contracts that the Knicks could go after.
The case for Russell Westbrook
The Rockets gave up a lot to pry Westbrook out of OKC last year to reunite him with James Harden in H-Town. It seems silly to think that Houston will just give up on Russ after just one-year, considering they took on his mammoth 5-year, $206 million deal.
While Westbrook and Harden each padded the stat-sheet this year, it's evident that they both need the ball at all times to be effective. The Rockets can make Westbrook available at some point in the 2020-21 campaign and the Knicks should pounce right away.
The 31-year-old guard is still owed $130 million over the next three seasons, which could obviously hurt NY’s chances of adding more pieces in the coming years. Then again, they don’t really have other big names who wish to join that dysfunction so they might as well go all-in on Westbrook.
As far as star power goes, Westbrook is the best talent they could get that might be worth absorbing a terrible contract for. The one-time league MVP’s impressive resume speaks for itself.
We’ve seen him figure in awful nights – particularly in the second round against the Lakers where his ill-advised shots and costly turnovers doomed his team.
The 9-time All-Star, however, is still a walking triple-double who could wreak havoc as long as he’s the number one option. Russ could lead the Knicks to a lot of regular-season wins and could possibly even give them a low playoff seed in the East.
The Rockets could ask for a trade centered around Mitchell Robinson, role players, and future draft picks, but the Knicks should be willing to pay that hefty price for his services.
The case for John Wall
Wall is another electric guard that the Knicks should pursue if the Westbrook deal won’t be on the table. The 5-time All-Star has been on the Knicks radar since 2018, and now might be the perfect opportunity to acquire his services.
The Knicks will have to take in the remaining $132 million on his contract for a chance of a fresh start in the Mecca. Given his string of injuries as of late, the Knicks might not even have to give up as big of a haul to trade for Wall.
The big issue, of course, is if Wall will return to his pre-injury form after a season-ending left heel injury in 2018-19. Wall even suffered a major setback by rupturing his Achilles in a freak injury in his home last year. Wall last played on December 29, 2018. That’s a lot of time away from basketball.
The Wizards will also likely test out where the 30-year-old is physically by keeping him on the roster at the start of the 2020-21 campaign. A fine performance would certainly raise his stock for potential suitors.
A lot of amazing guards have come into the league in recent seasons and Wall has somehow become a forgotten man. The Kentucky-product notched 20.7 points and 8.7 assists in his last healthy season.
Wall would certainly love to have a bounce-back year next season and New York might just be the perfect situation for him.
The case for Andrew Wiggins
While Wiggins isn’t as established as Westbrook and Wall, this scenario actually has the most realistic chance of actually happening.
The Dubs are reportedly in the market for a third superstar like Wall’s teammate Bradley Beal, and they need to shed off some space in their cap room.
Golden State will pay Wiggins $29 million next season and will owe him over $60 million in the next two years. That’s a lot of dough for a talented prospect who has yet to live to his supposed superstar potential.
The Knicks would actually prefer to have a proven superstar if they will take such a big financial hit. However, the Dubs might not ask for much and offer a pure salary dump deal – which New York would be foolish not to take.
Despite not being the star that everyone thought he would be, Wig is still relatively young at 25 and already has seven seasons under his belt. Moreover, the 6-foot-7 swingman is a proven bucket-getter, who could give the Knicks a 20-point scorer each night.
Plus, he would form an intriguing wing duo with fellow Canadian RJ Barrett.