A Joel Embiid trade doesn't fit the Knicks right now
76ers center Joel Embiid jokes with reporters during media availability on Oct. 5 in Fort Collins, Colo. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
The start of the season was a day away and, after all of the talk of continuity and calm at Madison Square Garden, the smooth sail into opening night was interrupted by a rumor that surfaced regarding the Knicks making three of their starters available in a trade for Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
This is the latest in a line of rumors involving star players — Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and whoever else might have crossed paths at some point with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau or team president Leon Rose or even commented that they like Madison Square Garden. And, at some point, the Knicks will be all-in on a deal for a star. But this one, on this day, is neither the right time nor place.
“What’s Thibs’ favorite line?” Jalen Brunson said on Tuesday. “We don’t deal with hypotheticals. I think I’m gonna say that every time.”
While it is not a closely guarded secret that the Knicks are monitoring the league for the next superstar to shake loose, having piled up assets to be able to make an offer when that time comes, this one seemed, like so many others, to be more smoke than fire. The deal, reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, claimed that the Knicks had let the 76ers know that they’d offer up a combination of any three players among Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and Evan Fournier as well as multiple draft picks.
Rose, who has overseen the accumulation of the assets, was once Embiid’s agent in his former career. So there is no surprise that the connection is made between the two and it’s reasonable conjecture to think that Embiid may want to force Philadelphia’s hand at some point. The 76ers are in an uncertain spot, with James Harden remaining away from the team as he hopes for his own trade out of town.
“That's for you guys,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You know, it's all rumors. That's part of the NBA now. Obviously, we're not dealing with any hypotheticals. We love the guys we have. Leon’s job is to survey the league, which he does. He and his staff are on top of everything. So if there's something at the end of the day that can make the team better we'll take a look at it. But if not, just keep going forward. We love the guys we have and just focus on our improvement and getting ready to play day by day.”
The Knicks have built a solid foundation and done it with reasonably priced contracts up and down the roster, making careful decisions to allow maximum flexibility. Consider the decision Monday not to extend Immanuel Quickley on his rookie contract or the choice to hang on to Evan Fournier and his expiring $18 million contract rather than free him up to resurrect his career elsewhere. Those choices are not made in a vacuum, instead measured as trade value in addition to on-court worth.
The dilemma is one that Knicks management understands as well as the fan base does: The team is not currently at the top of the league, still a level below the likes of Boston and Milwaukee in the East. Would an Embiid push them over the top? Well, in this case, the cost matters. If the 76ers, as you would think, picked the three starters, then the Knicks are left without a power forward on the roster and basically a roster not as good as some that Embiid has had around him in Philadelphia while not winning a ring. This rumor seemed more a starting point to let the NBA know if Embiid, with four seasons and $213 million on the books (the last year at $59 million is a player option), does hit the market the price will be high.
The Knicks' front office has shown that they will pursue these opportunities with fervor, but also within limits — see last summer’s pursuit of Mitchell, which seemed like a fait accompli until the Cavaliers jumped in and outbid the Knicks. Was that a sample of the caution in deals or a lesson learned of how far they have to go to get where they want to be? Are they willing to go as far as Milwaukee did for Damian Lillard? What Cleveland gave for Mitchell? Beyond what Miami would do for Lillard?
The Knicks are a work in progress. But that progress is how they got this far, and selling out everything for a star brings back grim feelings of Knicks' star chases of years past. The right deal isn’t just landing a star, but landing that player as a piece that lifts the team around him. But this isn’t the Bucks adding Lillard to Antetokounmpo. The Knicks have the complementary pieces — a lot of them — but they don’t have the star yet. For now, it’s building, and that is still a work in progress.
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.
