Well, tell Leon Rose this. He showed once again that he is not content to sit back and let good emotions and happy vibes drive the team forward. We've seen a lot that he doesn't believe in magical thinking and just hopes for the best.
Sometimes you have to shake things up and rattle your comfort zone to take the next step.
He did just that last December, sending RJ Barrett and Isaiah Quickley to Toronto and importing OG Anunoby. There was an immediate reaction and bitter sadness among many believers. They have watched Barrett and Quickley grow. The Knicks were winning with them. Was that deal really necessary?
When we looked into it, it was.
As we found whenever Anunoby was healthy last year, the Knicks were a far more lethal and efficient team with him than they were with Barrett and Quickley. Anunoby, who collapsed during the Pacers series, denied what seemed like a likely possibility. That new lineup likely gave the Celtics a few swings in the conference finals.
Knicks fans have spent much of the past few weeks and months counting down the days until training camp begins next week in Charleston, South Carolina. It has been a long time since the return of professional basketball has been greeted with such high expectations. The Knicks added Mikal Bridges and cut Isaiah Hartenstein. Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson's quirky college story was an undeniably cute one.
Can you win the NBA title with a cute story?
To be honest, it's hard to pinpoint one. And it would be an instant shock to learn that DiVincenzo and Julius Randle are headed to Minnesota in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. It takes a few days to absorb and get used to it.
KAT has long been viewed as potentially the final piece of the puzzle for the Knicks due to his strong relationship with Leon Rose and being a dynamite player at his best. He was recently outclassed by Anthony Edwards in Minneapolis and exposed on both ends of the floor in the playoffs.
Just as Randle was flawed, he's an All-Star flawed player. Rose said that's sure to cause some heartbreak among the Villanova crew and Randle, a Kentucky native who, like KAT, has an inside-out game and has drawn critics and criticism along the way. I decided to pull the trigger, knowing that I would be deaf. Randle was an import from the previous Knicks regime, but he quickly settled into Tom Thibodeau's system and enjoyed his best years here. Randall has the responsibility to end an endless wave of misery that has lasted almost a quarter of a century.
But will he be able to come back from shoulder surgery and take the Knicks to the next level, and will that mean going head-to-head with the Celtics?
Well, Rose made the deal, so we know what he thinks. And Rose cleared any doubts with his performance here from the first day. Everyone agreed that the Knicks can't become a true championship contender until they take another step forward. This is the movement.
Do you believe Leon?
Then you believe in the deal. You believe Thibodeau would not have approved this deal if he didn't believe he could coach and if he didn't believe he was KAT's first coach in the league. Moreover, you have to believe that Branson and the rest of Villanova were warned before the rest of New York was alarmed.
Does this make the Knicks a real threat to the Celtics?
You'll soon find out. But for now, the Knicks' potential ceiling is certainly higher than it was Friday morning. KAT must stay healthy. He has to accept Thibodeau's approach. But his skill set is meant to blend in with the players he'll be joining.
No trade is easy, especially when it involves a popular player that fans are obsessed with. But if you trust the person making these moves, and there's little reason why you shouldn't, this feeling will grow on you too. So far, trusting Leon has been wise. Why stop now?
