Knicks hit home run with Karl-Anthony Towns trade after some fortunate swings and misses |Max Sporty|

For greatest NBA teams which come together relatively organically, fate plays a supreme role. It’s not a knock. Luck, as they say, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. You have to do the hard work of putting yourself in a good position.

Check out the 2024 champion Boston Celtics. The Philadelphia 76ers gave them Jayson Tatum so they could draft Markelle Fultz. Then Jrue Holiday fell into their lap as the fallout from the Damian Lillard trade. And then they won the title.

The Golden State Warriors got Stephen Curry because the Timberwolves drafted Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, both point guards, with the two picks immediately preceding Curry’s No. 7 slot in the 2009 draft. Then they were able to sign Curry to a waiver-rack contract because they feared his right ankle was damaged. He fixed the ankle and immediately broke out, and then the Warriors were able to pay Kevin Durant for Curry’s small contract. And then they became arguably the greatest team in history in 2017.

The Denver Nuggets lucked into Nikola Jokic in the second round. The Lakers got lucky in LeBron because they play in Los Angeles, and then they could play for the title in the bubble, where Anthony Davis shot like he never even came close to shooting again in the friendly deep perceptions of a smaller gym.

The Toronto Raptors waited with a one-piece short team when Kawhi Leonard fell with the Spurs, and then they still it took arguably the luckiest rebound(s) in history and a blown Durant Achilles Tendon to win the first and only title in franchise history.

Again, all you can do is put yourself in a good position to strike when the right opportunity presents itself, and then cross your fingers. Which brings us to the New York Knicks, who did just that during a remarkable reset that began with the final chapters of the previous management regime run by Scott Perry and Steve Mills, who opened up long-term possibilities with shorter-term commitmentsand ended, for all intents and purposes, with the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT is the essential missing piece to push a good team over the hump of a great one.

In between, they had their share of luck. Knicks fans would say it’s about time after striking out so many home run swings over the years, but in this case, a strikeout. was the fate In 2019, they swiped Kyrie Irving and Durant and made some noise. Thank the basketball gods. In 2022, they would be happy, even thrilled to give the Utah Jazz almost all the capital they spent years acquiring for Donovan Mitchell, but they luckily outbid the Cavaliers, who are now the middle playoff team the Knicks. would go with a small, defensively vulnerable Mitchell-Jalen Brunson backcourt.

Instead, they just got Brunson … on a $100 million deal that most people, or at least a lot of people, thought was overpaying for a guy who was never a first round pick and probably never would be. Absolutely no one in good conscience would go on record as saying they thought Brunson would make it this good Maybe an All-Star, but not an MVP-level player. If you end up with that type of player on that kind of contract, you’re in luck. And the Knicks used those savings well to build the roots of this team.

Brunson’s bargain continued this summer when he signed a four-year, $156.5 million deal, which isn’t even 60% of the $269.1M he could sign for next summer. He’ll finally get his money, timing this little Robin Hood maneuver to end up a free agent after his 10th year of service in the summer of 2028, when he’ll be eligible for a five-year deal worth $400 million. .

But the lower salary number next season is key for the Knicks, because it keeps them under the dreaded second apron for another season in the clock ticking to a draft penalty. Without getting too far into the weeds of the CBA, once a team passes the second apron it can only go over one more time in the next four years before its draft pick (seven years out from the first year the second apron was passed) falls. to No. 30.

Towns’ contract, combined with Mikal Bridges’ extension, for which he will be eligible in the summer of 2026, will eventually take the Knicks over the second apron, but that’s two years from now, which essentially gives the Knicks a four-year window with this roster, rather than three if Brunson’s money was set to balloon next year, before having to lower the second apron again.

Four years in the NBA it’s an eternity, and that’s what makes this Towns acquisition, at this specific moment, such a home run. The basketball fit is irrefutably perfect, but it also gives the Knicks the most precious luxury: time. They don’t have to win it all next season. They may not ever win a championship with this group. If they don’t, that won’t make this decision to go all-in on Cities any less wise. It’s not so black and white. You need some luck in the roster building phase, and then you need more luck on the court as well. First, we’ll see if they can stay healthy. After that, there are a lot of other really good teams, too.

But they gave themselves a real chance with a core of players (Brunson, Towns, Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart) who are all between the ages of 27 and 29. Also, the time to move Julius Randle was now, before he becomes a free agent next summer and the Knicks would be forced to overpay him or let him leave for nothing. The Wolves were also highly motivated to move away from Towns for similar double apron concerns. From every angle, time is lining up.

If styles make battles, then circumstances make trades. Under different circumstances — say, like the set that Carmelo Anthony inherited with an old Amar’e Stoudemire and an old Chauncey Billups and without the role-playing support he needed to actually win because the Knicks gave away a lot of it in the trade to get Anthony in the first place – trading for Cities would be a disaster. He is not the guy to be the guy.

But the Knicks have their guy. It’s Brunson. There is, partly by design and partly by luck, total clarity from both a hierarchical and positional point of view. They have the superstar point guard, the three two-way wings in Anunoby, Bridges and Hart, and now the stretch shooting center who can space the floor for everyone while being protected by arguably the best perimeter defensive trio in the league. Only the Celts have grounds to argue there.

And so, Towns will be free to do what he does best — pick and pop all night and shoot the hell out of the ball in an optimally spaced floor without the burden of having to carry an offense. He looked great in this role for the Timberwolves when their offensive operation turned to Anthony Edwards. He played in two great lines with Rudy Gobert, which he can now do with Mitchell Robinson (unless he is later traded, which is a possibility).

This is, quite simply, the perfect move at the perfect time for the Knicks — not because Towns is a savior, but because he doesn’t have to be. This is not a typical Hail Mary move by the Knicks. No, this is a new day. The Knicks are smart now!

Yes, they tried to go all-in with the wrong cards a few times, but they lucked out and stayed in the game. Keep grinding. And now here they are, pushing all their chips into the middle with their hand to support such audacity. If they’re hit, they’re hit. But it is the right move at the right time. There is nothing to be sorry for, however it works.