As the NBA’s most famous dysfunctional franchise, the New York Knicks would have a lot to gain from trading for Damian Lillard. For years, the team has searched for their true franchise superstar, and while they’ve got some good talent in Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, nobody on the Knicks is quite good enough to carry a team to the title.
A top 75 player of All-Time, Dame would change everything for the Orange and Blue and it turns out they might have a pretty decent package for him. If the Knicks wanted to join the Lillard sweepstakes, they could offer Portland some pieces to rebuild that include RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and a few first-round picks. Since the Blazers are going younger, they could ask New York to take on Jusuf Nurkic in the deal, but the Blazers would then have to take on veteran sharpshooter Evan Fournier in the trade as well.
For the Knicks, a backcourt with Jalen Brunson and Damian Lillard will have some problems defensively but there is a sense that it could work under the right conditions. Knicks forward Josh Hart, who was Lillard’s teammate last year, is certainly down for a reunion.
The Knicks shocked the world with a run to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals last season and they are feeling pretty good about the future with their current core. But if the Knicks want to take a real shot, and bring in the type of superstar that raises their ceiling, they will have to take a risk and sacrifice some of their own talent.
Damian Lillard Would Become An Icon In New York City
The Knicks may not be the perfect landing spot for Dame, but they are certainly the most polarizing option amid the Damian Lillard sweepstakes. After spending his entire career so far in Portland, Oregon, Lillard moving to New York would work wonders for his brand and legacy as one of the greatest point guards in the modern NBA.
“Listen, if Dame Lillard gets to New York, and he does what he does in Portland in New York, he’ll be considered one of the best to ever to it. Like already,” said Garnett. “If he had 71 in the Garden like he did in the Rose Garden…it’d be bigger than life, that’s what I’m saying. Dame Lillard to New York, Knicks fans don’t even know what they’re [getting]. We’d have to go see that. We’d have to go pull up.”
It remains to be seen how all of this will play out, but it all falls on team GM Joe Cronin to make the final decision. Will he trade Lillard for scraps to get him in Miami, or will he prioritize getting the best return possible?
