It’s generally not a good idea to go “safe” or “boring” when you are talking Midtown Manhattan.
But could the boring max deal the New York Knicks gave free agent Gordon Hayward be a grand slam even the Bronx Bombers would be jealous of? Read on.
For years, make that decades, the New York Knickerbockers have been one of the most laughable franchises in the National Basketball Association. Year in and year out they struggle. They struggle to employ coaches for longer than a couple of seasons. They struggle to make good basketball decisions that pan out on the court. And worst of all, for Knick fans, they struggle to compete with cross-town rival Brooklyn on the court and in headlines (unless Dolan vs. Oakley is what you are after).
If there was any semblance of a team, I believe the franchise could have lured LeBron James or Kevin Durant to town. But why on earth would anyone dare “take their talents” to Madison Square Garden to that franchise?
While the signing of Hayward, who was previously grossly overpaid by the Boston Celtics, is neither sexy nor a big splash, it is absolutely the right move for the team to stabilize and move forward into the future. I mean, how long can the team stay down?
Hayward does command a pretty penny. And as we’ve seen in Utah and in Boston, Hayward is not the star to carry the team on his back. But Hayward’s steady play and drama-less demeanor in the locker room can help the young talent come together and for the franchise to be in a position to finally lure a franchise player to join. Dare I say Donovan Mitchell?
Sure, the signing will not be as popular and as exciting as Kyrie, Durant (or possibly Harden) to the Nets. But it actually is the smartest move the team has made in years and will start to right the ship.
So when people remember 2020 as the worst year ever, Knick fans can quietly say, nope. Not for us. That was the year we turned things around.