Wednesday will mark 140 days because the Knicks shook up their fan base and despatched a lightning bolt by way of the league on the eve of coaching camp. All of that feels slightly cute given the best way the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap electrified the basketball world two weeks in the past, and the persevering with aftershocks nonetheless reverberating in Dallas, in L.A., and all over the place else within the NBA.
Nonetheless, for the Knicks, the deal that despatched Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota and introduced Karl-Anthony Cities right here has already introduced a bunch of tangible rewards. And if the Knicks are going to climb increased than their perceived ceiling this yr, it’s in the end the broad influence of that deal that’s going to get them there.
There’s little doubt the Knicks have gotten the higher of the commerce. Cities’ numbers throughout the board are higher than Randle’s, and perhaps none reveals that greater than Cities’ Participant Effectivity Score, which is 25.0 throughout 49 video games; Randle’s PER is 17.2, and he’s struggled to determine his function with the Timberwolves.
DiVincenzo had prolonged points capturing firstly of the season, and although he had began to warmth up earlier than taking place with a toe damage a month in the past, he was nonetheless capturing simply 37 p.c from 3, greater than 3 share factors lower than the 40.1 he made as a Knick final yr. Greater than his capturing, what made DiVincenzo so standard among the many Backyard regulars was his toughness, particularly within the playoffs. And it’ll be curious to see what the Knicks can do to match that this time round.
