After going 5-7 over their last 12 games, the New York Knicks made a trade to acquire forward OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors for RJ Barrett, Emmanuel Quickley, and a second-round pick. Anunoby is a shrewd pickup, and he had a promising debut, scoring 17 points and six rebounds in an impressive 112-106 win for the Knicks over the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he’s not a player who would turn the tide of a franchise, due to which lifelong Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith is frustrated with the team’s failure to land a marquee talent.
In the pre-game show prior to the Knicks’ contest against the Chicago Bulls, Smith reiterated his vexation at the team’s failure to land a superstar. He said:
“This is the Mecca. This is Madison Square Garden. This is New York City, baby. They can’t get a star.”
Smith argued that the superstars from every facet of entertainment visit Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks in action. But the team never has a superstar player. He went on to suggest that he is more famous than any current Knicks player:
“Do you realize that a legitimate argument could be made that Stephen A. Smith is one of the biggest stars in New York? And that’s a damn shame. I am a bigger star than most of the New York Knicks!”
Smith may have a point. The Knicks haven’t made any big trades or deep playoff runs to write home about in the last ten years. Really, it’s only when Stephen A is ranting about the team that they seem to appear on national television.
Since Patrick Ewing‘s exit from the franchise in 2000, the Knicks have had a dearth of big-name talents playing for the franchise. Carmelo Anthony remains their biggest acquisition of the 21st century. The Knicks landed the former All-Star in a trade in January 2011, after which he went on to lead them to the playoffs in his first three seasons with the franchise. However, the furthest they went with him on the roster was the second round, with the Knicks only winning one playoff series in Anthony’s seven seasons with the franchise.
The Knicks didn’t do too well in free agency. Their biggest free agent signings of the 21st century are Amar’e Stoudemire, Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson. Stoudemire’s five-year stint with the Knicks was marred with injuries, and he never hit the heights from his Phoenix Suns days, during his time in New York, and the other two have never been bonafide superstars either. The Knicks are a big-market team and a historic franchise, however, they’ve acted like neither in the 21st century.
The Knicks’ free-agency whiffs
The New York Knicks have failed to land any massive free-agent over the last 15 years, but it’s not due to a lack of trying. In 2010, they were LeBron James‘ first choice when he decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the team failed to impress him during their meeting. Per Bill Simmons:
“[The Knicks] didn’t have anything prepared. It just couldn’t have gone worse by all accounts. It was a disaster. I think at that point, combined with the decade the Knicks just had, I think [LeBron James and his advisors] were just like ‘f**k it.'”
James joined the Miami Heat and won two NBA titles in four seasons with the franchise. The 2019 free agency was the wildest in NBA history. The amount of talent available was unfathomable. Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and Jimmy Butler were looking for new homes. The Knicks had their sights set on landing Durant and Irving. The superstar duo did team up only to sign together with the Knicks’ crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. In 2022, Irving admitted the Knicks could’ve landed the duo, saying:
“[The Knicks] had a good chance at getting us back in free agency. But we just felt like we wanted to build here and just make our mark on this franchise.”
The Knicks’ other option in the 2019 free agency was signing Kemba Walker, a New York native who hinted at being open to playing for the franchise. In an interview in 2018, he said:
“Every time I come home, ‘When you coming home to the Knicks?’ That’s all I get now. So I don’t know. MSG is a special place. The Knicks are a special team. Of course, I was a Knicks fan growing up. Always rooted for the home team.”
The Knicks whiffed on landing Walker, too. He signed with the Boston Celtics, rubbing more salt in New York’s wounds. Their only huge free-agent acquisition was Julius Randle, who is still with the franchise.
The Knicks’ geographical location and history should ideally give them a significant advantage in landing free agents. The Los Angeles Lakers have used similar benefits to devastating effect since free agency became a thing in 1988. However, the Knicks, bafflingly, continue to fail in bringing superstars to the Big Apple.
Stephen A. Smith’s claim about being the most famous person associated with the Knicks in 2023 may be outlandish. But it’s also likely correct.
