Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal is in the trade rumor mill and there are reportedly quite a few potential suitors. One of those suitors could be the New York Knicks.
The Knicks are coming off their best season since 2013, when they finished first in the Atlantic with 54 wins and made it to the second round. After that, though, they fell off a cliff and didn’t return to the postseason until 2021.
New York is now set up for success with a young team. Pairing someone like Beal with Jalen Brunson would give the Knicks a great backcourt, but would it matter?
EJ Stewart and Tommy Beer of the Audacy Original Podcast “Orange & Blue Bloods” explained why they don’t think Beal is the right fit for the Knicks.
“You know who else I kept hearing about having the best backcourt with Bradley Beal? I kept hearing everybody say that (John) Wall and Beal could be the NBA’s best backcourt,” Stewart said (11:50 in player above). “What did that win them? Jack! It didn’t win them anything – in their prime. Not injured, not making $50 million a year. This is when they were young, they were making the playoffs and couldn’t win anything.”
The Wizards have won three playoff rounds since Beal debuted in the 2012-13 season, none of which came in the last five years since Wall’s last season in Washington.
Adding Beal might give the Knicks more star power, but that’s not enough.
“So OK, you get the best backcourt in the NBA but what does that mean towards actually winning?” Stewart continued. “I feel like if they got Bradley Beal next season, I feel like the Knicks’ ceiling would be the same as it was this year… I think they’d probably get to the second round, they’d compete in a hard-fought series, and they’d probably lose to the Bucks or Heat or Celtics.”
While Beal to some of the other teams in rumors makes sense, such as the Miami Heat with a Jimmy Butler-centric timeline, it doesn’t quite match up for the Knicks.
“The beauty of the Knicks as currently constructed is not only are they competitive, they made it to the great eight this season, but they’re well positioned to be in the future,” Beer said. “Now you don’t have to pick just that one lane… You can be selective in the star you want to take back, and this is not the right star.”
Beal may not be the right star, but keep an eye on the Knicks this offseason as they look to take that next step in 2024.
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