Leon Rose, Knicks still deserve trust after Karl-Anthony Towns stunner
Well, give Leon Rose this: Once more he shows he is not content sitting still and letting good feelings and happy vibes try to carry his team forward.We have seen plenty that he doesn’t believe in magical thinking, simply hoping for the best. Sometimes you have to shake things up, rattle the comfort zone to take the next step. He did that last December, sending RJ Barrett and Isaiah Quickley to Toronto and importing OG Anunoby.
There was an instant reaction among much of the faithful, a wistful sadness.They’d watched Barrett and Quickley grow up.
The Knicks had been winning with them.Was that trade really necessary? As we found out, it was. As we found out whenever Anunoby was healthy last year, the Knicks were a far more lethal and efficient team with him than they would’ve been with Barrett and Quickley.
Anunoby going down during the Pacers series denied what sure seemed likely: That new lineup likely would’ve gotten a few swings at the Celtics in the conference finals. Knicks fans have spent most of the weeks and months since counting the days until the opening of training camp next week in Charleston, S.C.It’s been a while since the return of pro basketball has been greeted with this level of anticipation.
The Knicks added Mikal Bridges and subtracted Isaiah Hartenstein.The college-days quirk of Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson was an indisputably cute story. Can cute stories win an NBA title? It’s hard to identify one, to be honest.
And so it will cause some instant shock, realizing that DiVincenzo and Julius Randle are heading to Minnesota now in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns.It will take a few days to absorb, to get used to. KAT has long been viewed as a potential final puzzle piece for the Knicks because of a strong relationship with Leon Rose and because, at his best, he’s been a dynamite player.
Lately, he’s been surpassed in Minneapolis by Anthony Edwards, and during the playoffs, he was exposed on bot...