Dear New York Knicks,
Your franchise is at an interesting point right now. You have a young superstar, cost-controlled young players, and some ugly albatross contracts on the books. Right now I have a few requests of your organization, so that you hopefully become entertaining again and escape the mire of mediocrity.
Request 1: Find a young Small Forward!
I like the sense of direction that the Knicks have started to develop. Frank Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kristaps Porzingis, and Willy Hernangomez (who I’ll talk about later) will all be in their primes at the same time. If these four develop well, then the Knicks have a nice future ahead of them. I’m starting with something minor here, but you Knickerbockers should try to draft or land a young wing. A Kelly Oubre Jr. type player would go a long way in solidifying your young core. Speaking of which…
Request 2: Stop Wasting Willy Hernangomez!
Willy Hernangomez is a scintillating young talent! He could develop into a better-than-average center pretty easily, but you guys are benching him! I don’t care what other old guys are on your team. At least give him sixth man duties behind Kristaps and Enes Kanter. If you really think Willy is that bad, then maybe letting him learn and improve will also give your team a higher pick to draft a Small Forward. That’d knock out two birds with one stone!
Request 3: Stop Trying To Land Stars!
Look, I understand that there is pressure to perform in a market as big as New York City. Right now is still not the time to go looking for Kemba Walkers! The team is not good enough to do damage in the playoffs even with a player of that caliber. Don’t get antsy. Trust in your abilities to develop talent.
Request 4: Trade Your Older Players
Courtney Lee doesn’t have a long-term future on the New York Knicks. He’s just taking minutes away from younger players. His deal isn’t horrible, so you guys could definitely get rid of him for some assets. In a perfect world, you could package him and Joakim Noah together and just forget Noah ever existed (this is not a perfect world). As long as you don’t give up essential assets, Joakim Noah’s departure will be seen as a victory. Kyle O’Quinn should also be expendable. Enes Kanter can stay if you believe in his skills, but he can potentially be used to accumulate assets if Hernangomez is your center of the future.
So there you have it Knicks, my four requests to your organization. Readers, if you agree or disagree, give me a shout @PerSourcesSam! Hope you enjoyed!