The concept of the Knicks acquiring Gordon Hayward prior to the 2020-21 season wasn't all that exciting. There's no denying that he's a very good player with a ton of experience, a proven ability to win and a leadership quality for a team with some young core pieces. But after the Knicks went 21-45, it didn't seem like Hayward was necessarily the "missing cog" that would lead to success.
72 games later, 41 of which were wins, the No. 4 seed Knicks didn't even need Hayward to find success. With him, they might have been even better, though it wouldn't be easy to move past the big three of the 76ers, the Nets and the Bucks. The point is that the front office had an opportunity to make a splash relative to who was available, though they ultimately (and perhaps smartly) didn't commit to such a big financial move, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski notes.
However, should a big-ticket name become available this offseason, specifically in the trade market, the Knicks might not hold back. Woj explained on the latest episode of his and Zach Lowe's joint podcast.
"I think they're on the 'disgruntled star alert'... they have draft picks. They've got picks coming still from Dallas, they've got their own, they've got some young players who showed some growth with Tom Thibodeau that might be appealing to people," Woj said. "Depends what level of a star becomes available and who you want to cash your chips in [on] if they do, but I think... they have the potential to be in a conversation for [that] as an option, for a player who might want out somewhere."
While he didn't have a specific player in mind, he did give a scenario in which such a "disgruntled star" might become available.
"...Sometimes that player emerges off of a bad first-round exit, or a coach is let go that that player connected with [and he] doesn't like the new guy. Whatever it is, there are a lot of things that can trigger it," Woj said. "I don't know if there's an obvious one right now, but history tells us someone will emerge because it almost always does, and the Knicks are very much on patrol for that.
"Certainly, I think they're gonna take some... big swings in the trade market."
Whether or not the Beal sweepstakes are a hopeless endeavor at this point, it remains to be seen who might be the next in line. But regardless of who that player is — and regardless of how far the Knicks end up going in the playoffs — they're in a good position to throw in all their chips on the player who ultimately pushes them into the top tier of the Eastern Conference for 2022 and beyond.
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