Searching for Mr. Super Star
As Leon Rose was a co-conspirator in the fleecing of James Dolan in the Carmelo Anthony caper, he should know that trading away solid players for one super stud doesn’t improve a team’s chances of winning a title. The most recent balloon floated by some anonymous suit has the Knicks offering everyone but Jalen Brunson to Daryl Morey-Go-Round for Joel Embiid. This would be Melo II.
To build a winner, Rose must first evaluate the pieces that are already in place. Which players’ games are a suitable fit for a championship roster? Surprisingly, Jalen Brunson, the Knicks best player, may be more of a roadblock than a contributor to a perennial winner. This is not to say that with his high BB IQ Jalen would not adapt as the team evolves into a winner. But his ISO ball dominant play didn’t work well with the USA FIBA team. Tyrese Haliburton’s pass first, ball movement game was much more effective with a superior group of scorers.
Unlike the super adaptable LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid need to be surrounded by complementary players because of their limited adaptability. Giannis’ Bucks team was such. Brook Lopez became a three level scorer after being a low post center with the Nets. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are do it all players. Antetokounmpo is the greatest athlete to play in the NBA since Wilt Chamberlain, but he is a work in progress as a player. Golden State had the perfect blend of talent when they won their titles. Steph Curry was surrounded with defense first players, a couple of whom were very capable scorers. In both cases, all the roles necessary to be victorious were filled.
An evaluation of the Knicks past couple of seasons shows an effective offense and a mediocre defense. Interestingly, their regular season numbers are very similar to the champion Denver Nuggets, Nuggets averaged 117.6 points and gave up 114.2, the Knicks numbers were 117.8 & 114.9. The difference between the statistical parity and the real world results was the fabric of each team. The Nuggets had players who filled all the roles necessary to win tough playoff games, the Knicks did not.
Denver’s offense literally revolved around Nikola Jokic with everyone involved in the scoring. With cohesive ball movement, the Nuggets were very difficult to shut down when stops were needed. On defense, Jokic was no Mitchell Robinson, but he is an excellent rebounder. Three other starters were good to excellent defenders. When Michael Porter Jr. could not or would not defend, he sat.
The Knicks big three scorers are ISO players. The Knicks landed a prize in Jalen Brunson who was signed to fill a desperate need at PG. Unfortunately, Jalen is more ISO than set up the offense. Would Julius Randle and RJ Barrett be effective in a ball movement offense? We haven’t seen them in one. Quentin Grimes catch and shoot would clearly benefit. On defense, the Knicks start two solid defense first players. None of the big three is going to hinder competent offensive players. Actually, the rotation players are more well-rounded. As currently composed, this Knicks team is not going to advance in the playoffs because that is where defense comes to the fore.
Accordingly, adding Giannis, Joel or KAT (perish the thought), would not improve the Knicks chances of winning a title. Embiid would probably get them to the conference finals if we didn’t have to trade for him. But as a collection of basketball talents, it just wouldn’t work. Four ball dominant players, three of whom are weak defenders is not a formula for success.