Is Devin Booker to the New York Knicks Realistic?
By Evan Desai
Recently, the New York Knicks signed “World Wide Wes” and he could potentially help the Knicks secure Devin Booker this offseason.
William “World Wide” Wesley was not a high-profile move to casual fans. New York Knicks fans are no casuals, though. There’s a reason this hire has been on our minds from the start, savvy basketball fans know “World Wide Wes” as a figure who has been all over the basketball and entertainment scene.
In fact, Jalen Rose even described Wes as “The photo-bomber of basketball, sports, and entertainment” back in 2013. World Wide Wes knows everybody, from Michael Jordan, to Jay-Z, to LeBron, to Drake. He’s similar to newly hired Knicks President Leon Rose in that he also has connections to superstar basketball player after superstar basketball player.
Wesley used to work with Rose at the CAA, Suns All-Star Guard Devin Booker is a CAA client, and Wesley also has connections to him through the University of Kentucky basketball program–he’s close with Wildcats head coach John Calipari.
The NBA world has been waiting for someone to emerge as a true player for Devin Booker in the trade market, and nobody has positioned themselves as legit contenders for the elite scorer. Wes’ ties to D-Book at least position the Knicks to be an option for Booker. His contract still runs through the 2023-2024 season, though.
This means that he will have to approve of the Knicks, and the Suns certainly want him to stay. While Suns owner Robert Sarver is one of the worst owners in the NBA, the Knicks ownership is comical as well. The Suns also have a coach the team appears to believe in for the future as well as a little bit right now.
It’s hard to look at the Knicks and think that he’d be in a better position basketball-wise. Booker would have to be interested in Rose, Wesley, the New York market, and the spotlight. It’s possible, but the Suns were pretty good this year when they weren’t decimated by injuries. The team was really coming together under first-year head coach Monty Williams.
They essentially need to win out to make the playoffs, but Booker had the team looking like a Western Conference playoff team when the squad was healthy. He may not see the Knicks as a team that works better on the basketball court if he went there. The Suns were finally able to get Book a point guard in Ricky Rubio, and the two worked great together.
As for the Knicks, however, they need to try to be all over this one. The Knicks don’t have an impressive roster by any means, but have three solid point guards. Elfrid Payton didn’t work very well with Booker when they played together in the past, but that still leaves Frank Ntilikina, as well as Dennis Smith jr. Booker would be able to play at his true spot on the wing 100 percent of the time, and he’d get the ball VERY often.
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The pairing of Booker with the Knicks’ up-and-coming point guard play sounds terrific, but signing Booker would also help lure in more big names to come to play at the Garden. This doesn’t mean that acquiring Booker makes the Knicks favorites in the Giannis sweepstakes, or even favorites to land Damian Lillard.
While most would assume that acquiring Booker would mean that Karl-Anthony Towns would be in a prime position to come home and join his former Kentucky teammate, that is likely not the case because of the Knicks’ most recent hire, Tom Thibodeau.
What Booker would mean, however, is that New York would become a better destination for free agents and high profile players in general. It doesn’t guarantee specific names that can be speculated right now, but it guarantees a higher and more real potential to bring in better players, and will certainly have some sort of substantial impact.
Next. New York Knicks: William “Worldwide” Wesley joins the front office. dark
The Knicks would be a much better team, and if he could team up with another Rose-Wesley connection, they could be in the playoffs. Nothing on the Knicks is a quick fix, but World Wide Wes as well as Rose at least puts them in a better position to bring in more talent and adds more validity to the constant rumors surrounding this club.