Wolf of Ball Street; Knicks’ Trade Is a Risky Investment

The New York Knicks no longer found patience to be a virtue.

“Friday Night Knicks” took on a whole new meaning this time around, as the team reportedly engaged in a late-night deal for Karl-Anthony Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves dominant interior threat. The deal is set to send Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle north with various side pieces thrown in for salary stabilization (h/t Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic).

Trading for Towns will certainly mute the long-misguided “sleeping Leon Rose” meme that circulates around X every time an NBA star lands anywhere except Manhattan. No one in their right mind can say that Rose and Co. didn’t act fast in the wake of the Knicks’ latest medical setback, one that’s said to keep Mitchell Robinson sidelined until winter.

In this case, however, maybe Rose should’ve kept dreaming.

With the Towns trade, the Knicks threw away a concept of patience that dominated the past two seasons of prosperity. His best move to date might be one he didn’t make, namely backing out of the Donovan Mitchell deal that has since placed the Cleveland Cavaliers into a realm of instant contention where they have yet to justify their presence. Rose then flipped the pieces Mitchell’s Utah employers reportedly craved (i.e. RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes) for contention material such as OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges (the latter obtained for Bojan Bogdanovic, who came over when Grimes was shipped to Detroit).

The Knicks were undoubtedly expected to contend this year; making the second round isn’t cute or fun anymore, especially with a conference finals appearance drought that’s almost old enough to rent a car without a surcharge. But trading for Towns almost certainly heightens those expectations, ones that are now undertaken with the valuable concept of familiarity somewhat loosened.

As constructed, the Knicks had something that could at least give the defending champion Boston Celtics a run for their money thanks to familiar chemistry. DiVincenzo was a quarter of the “Nova Knicks” headlined by franchise face Jalen Brunson while Randle led the Tom Thibodeau veteran subgenre that also featured Miles McBride and Jericho Sims.

Add the gathering of former Phoenix Sun to the mix and the familiarity was perfect for a team that is looking to make one last leap on the regular season leaderboard. Finishing second was impressive as it was but the Knicks never had realistic hopes of the top seed, which the Boston Celtics had more or less secured by the All-Star break.

The familiarity could’ve helped the Knicks keep an early pace. Now they’ll have to the same with two friendly faces gone and a new major face in tow with Towns.

To be fully fair, the Knicks are still in a position where health is their biggest enemy. It’s not like Towns has been a disruptor of the peace and he has apparently buried the hatchet with head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has proven more than capable of harnessing and meshing new talent quickly.

If injuries do strike, however, the Knicks aren’t in as prominent of a position to cover them up. DiVincenzo can’t throw threes at the problem Villanova-style and the multi-pronged talents of Randle could’ve covered sores in the backcourt and frontcourt alike. Simply put, if Anunoby and/or Towns (limited to 29 games in 2022-23 with a calf injury) miss any significant time, championship dreams could be dashed before they’re ever thought of.

To again view things in Manhattan-styled glasses, perhaps Rose’s big splash is not a panic buy in the wake of the Robinson news and could instead be viewed as a vote of confidence in his current group … despite their lack of active minutes to date. What it has undeniably done, however, is hit the fast-forward button that Rose was so eager to avoid. The Knicks already carried a sizable target on their backs. Now it’s the size of Madison Square Garden’s famed roof, one where anything short of perhaps an NBA Finals appearance will lead to uncomfortable questions at this time next year.

Patience is a virtue. Only time will tell if the Knicks come to regret forgetting their manners.

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