Knicks stand pat as NBA trade deadline passes, then beat Golden State
Knicks forward Julius Randle reacts after scoring during the first half of an NBA game against Golden State in San Francisco on Thursday. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
SAN FRANCISCO — The Knicks worked through their shootaround at the Chase Center on Thursday morning, running the workout nearly to the 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline.
When it passed, they were intact — so they headed back in the afternoon with the same squad that had gotten them to that point.
While the trade deadline featured a flurry of big names shifting locations around the NBA, the Knicks stood pat despite having losing four straight and 10 of 12.
"It really doesn’t change in terms of we already made a trade earlier on," coach Tom Thibodeau said before the Knicks stunned Golden State, 116-114, on Thursday night. "That’s part of it. You look at your player development. You look at your trade possibilities, trades, free agents. Leon [Rose], [William Wesley] and Scott [Perry] look at it in totality. It’s ongoing. It doesn’t end. It’s every day thinking about how can we improve the team.
"So there’s short-term planning, long-term planning and you’re constantly looking at both. That’s Leon’s job. He’ll continue to look. There’s always possibilities, different ways you can improve the club, and I trust him."
The decision to stand pat wasn’t totally their own. Multiple sources around the league indicated the Knicks were willing to deal just about anyone on the roster for the right return, but the sources also indicated a universal lack of interest in the Knicks’ talent and contracts.
One person with knowledge of the talks said the Knicks had shopped Evan Fournier and Alec Burks. Those moves could have cleared up some of the playing time issues that will surface when Derrick Rose returns (expected after the All-Star break) and created some opportunities for Cam Reddish after the Knicks dealt a first-round pick and an expiring contract to obtain him.
But Fournier’s contract was an obstacle to any attempt to move him, and other players the Knicks were dangling, such as Kemba Walker and Nerlens Noel, drew little interest.
If the deadline passing at least eased the stress, the Knicks still had the task of taking on Golden State on the road without RJ Barrett, who was sidelined with a sprained left ankle. But they managed to play one of their most complete games of the season.
Leading by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks saw their lead cut to one, and when Reddish missed one of two from the line with 6.2 seconds remaining, there was one more opening for Golden State. Klay Thompson shook Fournier and had an open look from 10 feet out, but his shot hit the back rim as time expired.
Julius Randle had 28 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists and Fournier added 22 points. Burks had 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Reddish added 12 off the bench for the Knicks (25-31).
Stephen Curry had 35 points and 10 assists for Golden State (41-15).
Despite sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and stumbling badly during the last month, the Knicks tried to put on a brave face before the game.
"I’m fine. I like our team," Thibodeau said an hour before the deadline. " . . . Whoever we have, we like. If something can make us better, we’ll definitely consider it. We’ll keep working every day.
"I love our guys. I think we just got to keep working at it. Whoever comes in or whoever is here, we have a really good core to build off of. We’ve got to continue to work."
Thibodeau, who was a team president in addition to the coach with the Timberwolves, has insisted that the front office keeps him apprised of what is going on. While as the coach he might have wanted to find something to help jump-start the team, he said he is fine with Rose’s approach.
"It’s not an easy job, I can tell you," Thibodeau said. "That was the one takeaway I had from doing it. It’s a difficult job. It takes a strong person, and that’s what I love about Leon. He’s very pragmatic. He’s not going to overreact. But it’s a challenging job. It’s challenging in different ways."
Rose and the Knicks’ front office have not spoken publicly since the start of training camp.
Fournier said after Tuesday’s loss that he believes the team has the talent to put together a run this season. Walker echoed that sentiment Thursday morning.
"I agree. I do," he said. "I just think we haven’t really found our rhythm together. And that’s been the biggest problem. It just hasn’t come along for us as a group, and that’s been our biggest problem. I do think we have great players. I do. Great group of guys. We just haven’t been putting it all together."
He put some of it on his own struggles but insisted that he wanted to stay with the team.
"Yeah, I’m here," he said. "Like I said, I mean, what can I do? It’s not up to me. I’m just a player. I don’t make those decisions or anything like that, so yeah, I want to be there. That’s why I came here, to be a part of my home team. It’s not really my decision.’’
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
