If it were up to Stephen A. Smith, the New York Knicks roster would be different.The Knicks have had their share of NBA Draft setbacks, but one in particular stands out to ESPN analyst and New York fan/critic Stephen A. Smith following the emergence of Tyrese Haliburton.
New York had a chance to take Haliburton out of Iowa State with the eighth pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, but instead acquired Obi Toppin from Dayton. “I know some members of the Knicks,” Smith said on Tuesday’s First Take edition before New York’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “I called them…I argued with them: ‘Draft Haliburton.’ There’s Julius Randle. You won’t play Obi Toppin very often. I know the brother is a Skywalker, but damn, he’s not what you need! You need the Haliburton! ”Unable to find a role for Toppin in the regular rotation for three seasons, the Knicks traded Toppin to the Indiana Pacers in the second round over the summer. Toppin joined Haliburton, another import from Indiana who was picked 12th overall by Sacramento. The two are now set to play for their first NBA in-season tournament crown against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).Since joining the league in 2020, Haliburton has become exactly the player he promised he would be. After college, he was an elite guard with scoring ability compared to Lonzo Ball. He would also be an impactful defender with his length and would have great promise as a future rising star in the NBA.Unfortunately for New York, the Knicks didn’t see it that way. Toppin took the Waterworks with the eighth overall pick as the Brooklyn native was expected to return to New York basketball. But he was more than just a feel-good pick: He arrived in Manhattan as the reigning Naismith Player of the Year and brimming with the promise of a star athlete.Just in time for the first year of the Tom Thibodeau era, Toppin joined a Knicks team that was trying to find itself. Randle was coming off an ineffective first season with New York, while R.J. Barrett was still finding his sea legs. But as promising as that looked on paper, he never evolved into the role New York envisioned for him, in part because of Randle’s All-Star breakthrough in the following 2020-21 season, during which the Knicks finished fourth in the East en route to the finish. a seven-year playoff drought. Smith’s argument isn’t as black and white as it seems: Randle’s leap in year two was unexpected to say the least, as he averaged among the best of his career in nearly every major category (including averages of 24.1). points). and 10.2 rebounds). He became an undisputed No. 1 option for the Knicks and, despite some hiccups, still shares that role with Jalen Brunson today.From then on, Toppin’s foresight seemed redundant: The hometown rookie averaged just 11 minutes in his first season and never topped 18 in his three years. It got to the point where trading him was the only option, no matter how poor the returns. As wise as it may have been, watching Toppin work magic for the up-and-coming Pacers alongside classmate Haliburton, who formally introduced himself to the mainstream basketball scene during the knockout phase of the In-Season Tournament (53 points, 28 assists in victories over Boston and Milwaukee). From that point on, Toppin’s foresight seemed futile: The local rookie averaged just 11 minutes in his first season and never exceeded 18 minutes in his three years. It got to the point where trading him was the only option, no matter how paltry the return was. As helpful as it was to watch Toppin with classmate Haliburton, who officially entered the mainstream basketball scene in the round of 16 of the season’s tournament (53 points, 28th). ), making magic for the next Pacers).Haliburton probably would have succeeded in New York, especially with a different skill set than Randle, and might have succeeded if he had taken on the bulk of the sales duties. The Knicks more or less found a stabilizer in that regard by signing Brunson to fill that role two summers ago, but the idea of what could have been will no doubt resonate with Knicks fans looking for a 146 got a quick dose of reality, the aftermath of a -122 blitz by the top-seeded Bucks on Tuesday. The entire NBA revolves around the question “What if?” » When a draft pick doesn’t work out, it’s common on social media to essentially point out that a later pick produced a superstar. When the attempt at a “Big 3” fails, the narrative turns to what could have been. The same is true when trade rumors become just rumors.New York is not new to this way of thinking. Smith’s comments only add fuel to the fire, but that is not the point. Yes, Haliburton would have been nice, but it might ignore what they’ve been able to accomplish with the current core of Barrett, Brunson, and Randle.
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