“Everybody got something but one team, and that’s the New York Knicks - Stephen A. Smith bashes New York Knicks draft activity
Many Knicks fans were unhappy with the outcome, none more so than Stephen A. Smith
© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The 2022 NBA Draft is officially in the books. Despite the rumors that some big moves could be made during the draft, most teams had a relatively quiet night. One team that had a wild night, despite not making a single selection, was the New York Knicks. New York did a lot of work to end up with zero new players, leading to a lot of confusion from the NBA community, so here’s a quick breakdown of what they did last night.
The Knicks didn’t draft a single player, and Stephen A. Smith isn’t happy
The Knicks went into the draft armed with the 11th overall pick. They ended up trading that pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for three future conditional first-round picks. New York then proceeded to trade one of the picks they just got from the Thunder, plus four second-rounders, to the Charlotte Hornets for the rights to Jalen Duren. Duren seemed like a perfect fit for the Knicks considering their need for a center, and Knicks fans were happy with the move.
That happiness quickly wore off because Duren was traded, along with
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Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons for a 2025 first-round pick. So New York ended up shedding some salary and picking up some more picks for the future, but they missed a prime opportunity to bring in a talented player who could help them right off the bat next season.
Many Knicks fans were unhappy with the outcome, none more so than Stephen A. Smith. The fiery analyst from ESPN was flabbergasted that of all the teams in the NBA, the Knicks were the only one that failed to add a single player last night, despite having several needs to address this offseason:
“We’ve seen shot-blockers drafted, we’ve seen athletes drafted, we’ve seen shooters drafted, we’ve seen guards drafted, we’ve seen everything drafted. But the Knicks didn’t draft anybody. Put that in the proper perspective. We got picks all over the place, every ingredient that you can muster, you want paprika, you want black pepper, you want salt, you want nothing, it doesn’t matter. Everybody got something but one team, and that’s the New York Knicks.” - Stephen A. Smith, ESPN.
Did the Knicks make a mistake by failing to add anybody in the 2022 NBA Draft?
For a while, everything seemed great for Knicks fans. Duren was precisely the type of player they needed, and they were able to pick up a couple of extra first-round picks in the process of getting him. But then it all turned out to be part of a plan to dump Walker’s salary. To say Knicks fans were disappointed was an understatement.
New York has more cap space to attack free agency, but they have some contracts that they need to move before they can make any huge moves. They could have had young talent on a cheap deal in Duren, but they prioritized moving Walker first.
It’s also not as if the picks the Knicks got are all that great. All of the first-rounders they have left from their trades are protected picks, and chances are they won’t be higher than the 11th pick the Knicks had at their disposal last night. It feels like the Knicks just wasted their best shot at adding talent this offseason, and Knicks fans are rightfully upset.
New York failed to meet expectations last season after exceeding them the season before, and work needs to be done this offseason if they want to bounce back next season. Unfortunately, it appears that the front office doesn’t have much urgency to accomplish that, and it could end up being a long offseason for the Knicks and their fans.
