Kyrie Irving isn’t right for the Knicks and the Knicks aren’t right for Kyrie Irving
Once news broke of Kyrie Irving’s trade demands, many postulated about his motivations to leave the best team in the East. Perhaps he’s tired of being overshadowed. Maybe he’s ready for a change of scenery. Or, if the LeBron James-to-L.A.-rumors hold water, he knows dark days soon dawn on the Cleveland horizon. Whatever the case, his burning eagerness to be a Knick is even more perplexing.
It all evokes memories of the Carmelo Anthony deal in 2011. The Knicks gutted their roster and draft capital to bring in a star thirsting for the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. In the six-and-a-half seasons since that fateful trade, the Knicks struggled to achieve respectability and subsequently stumbled through a minefield of questionable decisions.
Irving and Anthony are different players, but their games share similar faults. They both need the right guys around them to succeed and don’t move the ball as much as they could. While it’s impossible to know if Irving would produce the same tepid results as Anthony, it’s very easy to picture him struggling with the current team in place and the lack of financial flexibility. The fanbase might quickly sour on him in the same way if he did.
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What we do know is all the tea leaves point to a trade being imminent. Irving even unfollowed James on Instagram — a classic breakup move.
Surely for a player like Irving, there’ll be no shortage of suitors that come calling. Fortunately, I’m here to exercise my trade machine prowess and show you the most mutually beneficial deal for all sides. Let’s look towards the desert:
Sure, you can make a version of this trade and cut out the Knicks entirely, but keeping them in the mix is a win for all parties involved. In this deal, the Knicks get to finally move Anthony out all in one tidy little package. He already expressed interest in waiving his no-trade clause to go to Houston. One would have to assume if playing with LeBron was on the table, he’d give it the green light as well.
The Cavaliers would remain the cream of the Eastern Conference crop. Anthony and Eric Bledsoe would retain the scoring punch and star power of losing Irving. And apparently, Bledsoe already has a rapport with James (and newly-signed Derrick Rose).
Their crunch-time five of James, Anthony, Bledsoe, Kevin Love and either Tristan Thompson or J.R. Smith seems positionally unconventional, but LeBron transcends positionality (and sometimes space and time). He ostensibly served as Cleveland’s point guard since returning to his home state, so using him ambiguously would be fine.
The Suns would add a star to their stable of rising talent. In Phoenix, Irving would headline an extremely young and immensely promising core. The Suns (already pretty fun to watch) would skyrocket to the top of the League Pass power rankings. It’s not hard to imagine the backcourt tandem of Irving and Devin Booker going off for a combined 80 on any given night or averaging 50 points together per season (while giving up just as many, but still).
The Knicks picking up an intriguing talent in Marquese Chriss is nice, but this would really be about leaning into a smart rebuild. Through drafting Kristaps Porzingis, New York fell into a situation every team wants to be in: raising a unicorn. Nurturing his growth and keeping him in blue and orange should be their top priority. His development arc stammered last season because the ball was constantly occupied by two players who didn’t pass. Bringing Irving to the Big Apple would be exciting, but it’d be another prototypical Knicks move of choosing style over substance.
For all Irving’s offensive sublimity, geometrically-impossible finishes and yo-yo handles, he doesn’t necessarily make those around him better. He’s a point guard in name but not in practice. He is an incredible player, but he’s a very specific kind of incredible player. His game doesn’t necessarily inspire optimism about malleability. New York’s best path to success would be using the 2017-18 season as a developmental year. Let Porzingis be The Guy. Give him reps as the No. 1 option, feed him touches and raise his game.
It also gives you a season to see what Frank Ntilikina is and could be. For all of New York’s front office shortcomings, foreign scouting wasn’t one of them. They drafted Ntilikina over Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk and Donovan Mitchell, so the kid has a chance to be pretty special.
The Knicks won’t be good this year and shouldn’t try to be since the 2018 draft is top heavy with franchise-altering talent. Locking a top-3 selection would give them a shot at another foundational piece. By replacing one shoot-first ball stopper with another, they’d just be treading water in the middle of the lottery or toiling to make a bottom-rung playoff seed.
Aside from altering the development arcs of their fledgling stars, they’d most likely have to part with Ntilikina and/or cut off their pipeline of future talent. The Knicks with Irving wouldn’t become a contender, so they’re in no place to hemorrhage the few assets they have.
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Ultimately, there’s more upside for both them and Irving to be two ships passing in the night and go their separate ways. Who knows, maybe this will end up as just another NBA summer fling and Irving will be Instagram friends with LeBron again by the start of training camp.