New York Knicks Takeaways From Quiet NBA Trade Deadline

Focus Turns To NBA Draft

With the Knicks making no moves, it means they didn’t improve their team. While Rubio has his flaws, there is no doubt that he would have been an improvement over Rose and probably a better fit for the Knicks.

While Rubio is nowhere near Rose’s level scoring the ball, he can make up the gap with his superior playmaking skills. Add in the impact he makes defensively, where Rose is a sieve and disinterested most of the time, and Rubio most likely would have had a more positive impact on the Knicks in terms of wins and losses.

With Rose sticking on the team, the Knicks should turn their focus to lottery balls. The Knicks look like they aren’t going anywhere this season, as the loss against the Cavaliers drops the team to 23-35 on the season, five games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Rose has been a part of that, as his me-first attitude on the court isn’t helping make anyone better on the court.

But, that could be helpful for the Knicks in the long-run. 58 games is enough of a sample size to know this isn’t a good basketball team. If things continue on the same path they have thus far, the Knicks should continue tumbling down the standings, improving their chances of winning the NBA lottery.

Not making a move at the deadline, as the Knicks were reported as being ‘silent’ by other NBA executives according to Record NBA Columnist Steve Popper. Maybe that was part of their plan ultimately, as they want to begin committing to the rebuild around Porzingis instead of half-hearted attempts at throwing together a competitive team.