Which New York team is more appealing?
The Knicks have been the main franchise in New York and one of the biggest market teams for quite some time now, despite having a lot of awful seasons. But, in spite of all that, simply the brand of the New York based team can lure all-stars to play for them, at least that’s what all the people around the league are talking about. Every free agent’s name available this summer was mentioned when the subject of the discussion was the future of the Knicks, and given the fact that there will be a lot of superstar players available this summer, rumors are flooding the newspapers.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are the main subjects for this case, as many think that Kyrie isn’t too happy with the situation in Boston, despite all the talent that is showcased here, and he is willing to leave the team after this season. Durant’s contract will also expire in the summer, and is hard to believe that you can leave a team that (let’s assume that) just won three championships in a row and have all the factors that will make you stay long term; a nice coach and other star players that are unselfish in their style of play. Sure, the money can be the main problem, as Durant stated that “I just want to make sure I get as much money as I can on my next deal so I can stack up my money and figure it out,” he said on Posted Up with Chris Haynes. “That’s just the plan. Play basketball and stack money.” So, taking this into consideration, he will be likely to opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent. Jimmy Butler is another speculation of the Knicks saga, some of the analysts around the league mentioning his name multiple times when talking about that.
The question is, though, is the New York Knicks really the best fitting team for a superstar, or do their neighbours have a better chance at attracting some of the players mentioned above. Given the fact that Brooklyn Nets have a better roster with young talent and a Coach of the Year candidate in Kenny Atkinson, it would be a wiser decision for any player to go there, because the Nets are more structured than the Knicks, and the media pressure is not that high than in Madison Square Garden. Of course, Kyrie Irving wouldn’t have a place there, as Brooklyn is doing just fine at the moment on the point guard position, but other free agents may take that as an option in the off-season. The only case in which the Knicks would be a better option is that they get the first pick and select Zion Williamson, but other than that, there is no real reason for choosing the Knicks instead of the Nets.
Let’s take a look at both of the team’s roster. Knicks have a lot of young players too, but the difference between them and the Nets is that those from Brooklyn are on a playoff spot while the other ones are rock bottom once again. Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Knox are all under 23 years of age and they have time to develop, but the Knicks don’t have time no more, as they were bad for so many seasons that they need to do something in the near future. Other than those players and DeAndre Jordan, who is not sure that he will continue with them once the season is over, they don’t really have a supporting cast as good as the Nets have. We all saw D’Angelo Russell evolving into an All-Star and one of the main Most Improved Players contenders, Spencer Dinwiddie being a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year as well, only that he wasn’t lucky enough and got injured before the All-Star break, Joe Harris, who came out of nowhere and shot the lights out at the 3-point contest, Jarrett Allen who is 12th on the blocks-per-game list while averaging nearly a double-double with 11 PPG and 8,4 RPG. You add a pretty decent coach to all that and you have your case built for luring a star to your team.
