Leon Does Leon Things
Trust the Man Who Brought You Brunson.
Would it have been fun to spend this morning watching film of explosive dunks and tantalizing flashes of upside while imagining a 20-year-old prospect blossoming into a future star beneath the Garden lights?
Yes, absolutely.
However, Knicks fans don’t have that opportunity today, as Leon Rose and the Knicks front office, who entered Tuesday evening with the 24th overall pick, traded down not once but twice before ultimately bowing out of the first round entirely.
The first move sent pick No. 24 to the Lakers in exchange for No. 25 and cash considerations. (Los Angeles used the selection on Cameron Carr.) The Knicks then selected Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea at No. 25, and, for a moment, it looked like New York had scooped up De Larrea as a draft-and-stash.
However, minutes later, De Larrea’s rights were shipped to Dallas in exchange for the No. 30 pick and two future second-round selections. Koa Peat was taken 30th overall, but he wasn’t destined for New York either. Instead, Peat’s rights were shipped to Phoenix, with the Knicks receiving three second-rounders (the 47th overall pick in the current draft, as well as the Suns’ second-rounders in 2029 and 2033).
So, to sum it all up, New York turned the 24th overall pick into five second-rounders and cash.
In the immediate aftermath, there were plenty of pundits who criticized the Knicks’ strategy. There were plenty of high-upside, pro-ready players available, which could have helped bolster New York’s depth as they attempted to repeat as champs.
And I’ll admit it: I have questioned/doubted Leon Rose.
After the disappointing 37-win 2021-22 campaign, the Knicks landed the No. 11 pick in the 2022 Draft. Fans understandably viewed it as an opportunity to add a potential cornerstone piece and accelerate the franchise’s turnaround.
Instead, Leon flipped the pick to OKC for three future first-rounders.
The collective reaction from Knicks Nation could be summarized in three letters: WTF.
As we know now, Rose, Worldwide Wes and Brock Aller were thinking ahead, way down the road.
The Thunder selected Ousmane Dieng (who never cracked OKC’s rotation and was later salary-dumped to the Bucks). Rose then flipped one of those future picks to Detroit to unload the contracts of Kemba Walker, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, which provided NY the cap space necessary to sign some guy named Jalen Brunson.
You may have heard of him.
