3 moves the Knicks need to make this offseason

1. Trade for Damian Lillard so a superstar can flourish at Madison Square Garden

Admittedly, this would be a bold, bold move, but it is the type of transaction that will help make the Knicks a championship contender overnight. You will have to give up the farm to get him, but Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard could be next year’s MVP frontrunner if he is playing for a major market franchise like the Knicks. This would be bigger than trading for Anthony.

Lillard has been a six-time All-NBA player during his nine-year run in Portland. He is the best player to don a Blazers uniform since Clyde Drexler, and he would be the best to wear a Knicks jersey since Patrick Ewing. New York is the basketball Mecca and the Five Boroughs do love their point guards. Adding a superstar like Lillard to this roster makes the Knicks must-watch television.

Even if so many assets have to go Portland’s way, it will be worth it for this reason. New York will have acquired a superstar and Thibodeau will be able to get an undermanned supporting cast to at least play up defensively. Defensive issues are why the Terry Stotts Blazers never went anywhere. Lillard may be loyal to Portland, but he has to be the apple of the Big Apple’s eye this summer.

For the Knicks to win this offseason, they need to do three things. They need to retain a few glue-guys like Gibson who buy into Thibodeau’s coaching philosophy. New York needs to add a scoring presence out on the wing in someone like DeRozan. And lastly, they need to either trade for a superstar like Lillard or pick up a marquee free agent, someone at least on Kawhi Leonard’s level.

Add in a few smart draft-day decisions and the Knicks can be a real threat in the East in 2021-22.