Tom Thibodeau's love affair with longtime NBA vets is a tale as old as time. Maybe even as old as the guys he typically signs. And yet, the first-year New York Knicks coach has his Knicks well in the hunt for a 2021 NBA playoff berth, thanks to a strong 19-18 start in the first half of the season.

Behind this is a defense allowing a league-best 104.4 points per game, a methodical pace that's last in the league (96.0, 30th), and a strong core of young talent in 26-year-old Julius Randle, 20-year-old RJ Barrett, 21-year-old Immanuel Quickley and 22-year-old Mitchell Robinson.

Randle and Barrett are the only two players on the roster to have played in all 37 games, with each experiencing bountiful basketball boons.

When Thibs first took the reins, however, guys like Randle, Barrett and Robinson were apparently nothing more than trade chips in the longtime coach's mind.

From Yaron Weitzman at the New York Post:

[Thibodeau] pleaded for [GM Leon] Rose to offer long-term deals to free agents such as Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris and Bogdan Bogdanovic. He wanted to trade for Derrick Rose, a longtime favorite of his. He thought RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson could potentially be flipped for seasoned veterans. Initially, he was hardly sold on Julius Randle, according to a colleague.

Trading for Derrick Rose eventually happened, and so far through 10 games with the Knicks, he has delivered. New York went 7-3 during the stretch from Feb. 9-28, with wins over Washington, Houston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Sacramento, Indiana and Rose's old squad in Detroit. The former MVP went plus-67 in those 10 games and averaged 12.5 points.

But there's no way the Knicks would be where they are without the contributions from the fountain of youth, with Julius Randle blossoming into an All-Star and Barrett showing flashes of star potential. Robinson was also excellent defensively before he went down with an injury, but Nerlens Noel has stepped up in his place.

What's more interesting at this point: See how far these young guys can go under Thibs' coaching acumen? Or see what old rusty pieces Thibs can dredge up in the trade machine?