NY Knicks, Damian Lillard (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Welp…it was fun while it lasted NY Knicks fans.
The season is over. This hurts.
I feel like we as fans came into this postseason with much more confidence than we should have had.
Yes, the Knicks beat the Hawks 3 times in a row during the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different animal, and that Atlanta team they just faced is stacked from top to bottom.
It became very obvious, very soon into the series, that Julius Randle is not a true first option on a contending playoff team, and would be best to pair him with another star either of his same caliber or bring in a Batman to Randle’s Robin.
That’s not a knock on Julius whatsoever…he brought the Knicks to the dance with his efforts throughout the regular season.
It’s just that he’s more of a Pippen as opposed to a Jordan, and that’s okay.
As this is being written, my favorite player in the NBA, Damian Lillard, is set to play in Game 6 against the Nuggets and could be bounced out of the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
(Editor’s Note: Dame and the Blazers are officially out of the playoffs after losing last night’s game).
Coming into the season, I’m sure Portland had title aspirations but yet again, the team and organization have failed Dame yet again.
Should the NY Knicks aggressively pursue Damian Lillard this offseason?
Somebody needs to get my boy outta there, and I am praying that the team to do it is the Knicks.
I have written extensively about a possible Damian Lillard trade to NY during this season, as recently as just a few days ago.
It would just make too much sense if Lillard is eventually beaten tonight.
The NY Post has already reported that the Knicks have made their calls to Portland regarding the availability of Dame.
Now, as far as the trades are concerned, the way I see it there are two different directions the Knicks can take.
Based on the report from Marc Berman of the NY Post, the Knicks would be willing to give up 3 or 4 first-round picks in a deal for Dame if it meant keeping both RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin.
The way I see it, either the Knicks stick to their word and don’t give up either of the two young stars or they explore the concept of a trade that would include one or both of them in order to retain more future assets.
Here I’ll be discussing what I think both of those two trades could look like.
NY Knicks</a> fans.</p>
<p>The season is over. This hurts.</p>
<p>I feel like we as fans came into this postseason with much more confidence than we should have had.</p>
<p>Yes, the Knicks beat the Hawks 3 times in a row during the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different animal, and that Atlanta team they just faced is stacked from top to bottom.</p>
<p>It became very obvious, very soon into the series, that Julius Randle is not a true first option on a contending playoff team, and would be best to pair him with another star either of his same caliber or bring in a Batman to Randle’s Robin.</p>
<p>That’s not a knock on Julius whatsoever…he brought the Knicks to the dance with his efforts throughout the regular season.</p>
<p>It’s just that he’s more of a Pippen as opposed to a Jordan, and that’s okay.</p>
<p>As this is being written, my favorite player in the NBA, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Damian Lillard</a>, is set to play in Game 6 against the Nuggets and could be bounced out of the first round of the 2021 playoffs.</p>
<p><em>(Editor’s Note: Dame and the Blazers are officially out of the playoffs after losing last night’s game).</em></p>
<p>Coming into the season, I’m sure Portland had title aspirations but yet again, the team and organization have failed Dame yet again.</p>
<h2>Should the NY Knicks aggressively pursue Damian Lillard this offseason?</h2>
<p>Somebody needs to get my boy outta there, and I am praying that the team to do it is the Knicks.</p>
<p>I have written extensively about <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/02/ny-knicks-ny-must-trade-for-damian-lillard/">a possible Damian Lillard trade to NY</a> during this season, as recently as just a few days ago.</p>
<p>It would just make too much sense if Lillard is eventually beaten tonight.</p>
<p>The NY Post has already reported that <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://nypost.com/2021/06/04/knicks-already-calling-about-damian-lillard-after-frustrating-blazers-playoff-exit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Knicks have made their calls to Portland regarding the availability of Dame</a>.</p>
<p>Now, as far as the trades are concerned, the way I see it there are two different directions the Knicks can take.</p>
<p>Based on <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://nypost.com/2021/04/30/knicks-would-jump-at-damian-lillard-trade-opportunity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the report from Marc Berman of the NY Post</a>, the Knicks would be willing to give up 3 or 4 first-round picks in a deal for Dame if it meant keeping both RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin.</p>
<p>The way I see it, either the Knicks stick to their word and don’t give up either of the two young stars or they explore the concept of a trade that would include one or both of them in order to retain more future assets.</p>
<p>Here I’ll be discussing what I think both of those two trades could look like.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Leaving RJ and Obi out of the deal </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-118968" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1233075964.jpeg" alt="NY Knicks, Damian Lillard" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1233075964.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1233075964-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">NY Knicks, Damian Lillard (Photo by Seth Wenig – Pool/Getty Images)</p>
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<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[27,34]" data-team-gets='[["Damian Lillard"],["Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley","Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina","Both DAL First Round Picks","2021 and 2024 NYK First Rd Picks"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fknicks.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Knicks Get</div> <div class="info">Damian Lillard</div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> <div class="team b"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Ftrailblazers.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Trail Blazers Get</div> <div class="info">Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley</div> <div class="info">Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina</div> <div class="info">Both DAL First Round Picks</div> <div class="info">2021 and 2024 NYK First Rd Picks</div> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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<h2>Should the NY Knicks give up IQ and Mitch plus picks for Damian Lillard?</h2>
<p>This would be the option where the Knicks sacrifice far more draft capital in exchange for Dame.</p>
<p>I think this would be my preferred option of the two even though this one requires the team to lose Immanuel Quickley.</p>
<p>Mitch is entering the final year of his rookie contract and up until now has not proven he’s worthy of a big extension even though I could guarantee that’s what he will be looking for sometime soon.</p>
<p>In today’s NBA, unless you’re a premier stretch 5…you’re replaceable in this league.</p>
<p>As much as I would love to have Mitch here long-term, the Knicks would be fine next year with just Nerlens Noel, Taj Gibson, Norvel Pelle, and a rookie center if they decided to draft one.</p>
<p>If Portland is getting rid of Dame, they’d probably be looking to rebuild altogether and Mitch would be a tremendous center for a younger team to build around.</p>
<p>The other prize for Portland would of course be Immanuel Quickley.</p>
<p>While everyone else believes that Quickley is developing into Lou Williams 2.0, I think he can be much more than that one day and that’s the part of the trade that would hurt the most.</p>
<p>In all likelihood, the picks involved will be middling to very late, so that part doesn’t hurt much at all.</p>
<p>I think this trade would be a steal if it went through.</p>
<p>If the Knicks ended up turning the aftermath of the Kristaps Porzingis trade into Damian Lillard…</p>
<p>Knicks-2 Mavs-0</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Including both RJ and Obi </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-118969" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1058,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1308961890.jpeg" alt="NY Knicks, Damian Lillard" width="1600" height="1058" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1308961890.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1308961890-768x508.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">NY Knicks, Damian Lillard (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[27,34]" data-team-gets='[["Damian Lillard"],["RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin","Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina","Both 2021 First Rd Picks","Two Future Second Rd Picks"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/04/ny-knicks-2-trades-damian-lillard-to-ny/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fknicks.png">
