It’s that time again! The Knicks open their season tonight, so we at The Strickland are here with our always accurate, always insightful, always perfect roundtable predictions for the upcoming season. Enjoy!

Who will the Knicks’ MVP be this season? Who are you most worried about not delivering up to par?

Shwinnypooh: I’m sure that Brunson or RJ will be racking up the votes, but I’m going to go ahead and pick Mitchell Robinson for MVP. I try not to take too much from the preseason, but if he can bring the type of focus and effort he showed over those four games for the full season, he’s going to be indispensable even with the Knicks’ solid center depth. Oh, and watch out if he keeps hitting free throws at a reasonable clip.

I’m most worried about Isaiah Hartenstein, I think. Randle will be Randle and Evan will be Evan. They will do things that annoy and frustrate me, but I’m not particularly worried about what they’ll deliver, if I’m being honest. I just have no read on Hartenstein. What I saw in the preseason with him as a drop big on defense, boxing out, and generally how he fits in with the bench group raised some eyebrows. I still think he’ll prove to be a shrewd signing, but the bedding in period is going to take longer than I expected. It would not surprise me if we see Sims get some more burn than expected early in the season while Hartenstein is still getting acclimated.

Derek Reifer: Fun fact for my impact metrics nerds: Mitchell Robinson has led all Knicks in EPM (Estimated Plus-Minus, a “catch-all” stat that controls with who you share the floor with and who you’re playing against) wins in three of his four career seasons. The only exception was the season whereJulius Randle was touched by God. Why would that change this season? Mitch is on the NBA Mount Rushmore of offensive rebounding, provides vertical gravity and finishing to make up for what he lacks horizontally, and is a truly elite defender at multiple levels. An in-shape Mitch from Day 1 can be a force to deserve some All-Star chatter.

Par for Randle is so low at this point that I’d say he “delivers,” so my biggest worry would probably around Jalen Brunson. He could be a huge upgrade over the Kemba-Burks amalgamation, but still be enough of a sieve on defense to make 9 figures taste sour to fans unless he gets off to a hot start. As the new guy in town, from what I garner, many fans are expecting borderline-to-true All-Star performance, and he’ll have to deliver that with less spacing (and less Luka) than he had last year.

Stacy Patton: I agree with Derek on the fact that Mitchell Robinson is massively underrated and strongly disagree on Brunson. I think his defensive shortcomings are being oversold, especially if he gets to play next to Quentin Grimes instead of Evan Fournier. He struggles against the Ja Morants of the world (who doesn’t), but is strong and a really good team defender. I’d also add that in 17 games without Luka Doncic Brunson averaged 20, 7, and 4 while absolutely PUTTING IT ON Donovan Mitchell in the PLAYOFFS. Yes, the same Donovan Mitchell everyone’s been crying about trading for.

And the eye test matches the stats. He can get his shot at three levels, and he can get to 10 feet and below basically at will where he is ridiculously efficient. There is NO ONE else on the Knicks with that kind of offensive ability, and he is a capable passer who has good judgment on pushing the pace. I love RJ Barrett, but this is a no brainer to me. If Brunson can up the 3-point volume (definitely seems to be a question of mentality more than ability), he absolutely will be in the All Star conversation. Honestly, he might be in that conversation if he doesn’t.  

I’m not too worried about anyone delivering up to par to be honest, but if I had to pick someone it would be Julius Randle. Can he get up to 35 percent from three on decent volume? Can he make quick decisions on offense and cut down the diet of isolations from 20 feet and out? Can he show consistent effort on defense? Preseason gives me more confidence towards a tentative yes, but I do think it is the biggest question mark. 

Drew: For those who are not Patreons (you really should be, by the way), myself and the Dall Pal answered this question on the Mail.bag! And I already forgot who I picked… Anywell, I’m pretty sure I said it would be Jalen Brunson. Barrett definitely has a chance if the efficiency improvement happens, but let’s talk Brunson for a moment. When was the last time the Knicks had this caliber of a starting point guard? Stephon Marbury is the only name I can come up with, unless you’re a Prigioni truther.

I’m very alright reading way too much into the preseason, but Brunson is legit. He has such a command a feel for the game, and RJ Barrett gets to play most of his minutes with him! Brunson stabilizes the entire offense while also keeping the ball out of Julius Randle’s hands. Fun fact: Jalen Brunson has a better 3-year RAPM (2.41) than his former teammate and “wunderkind” Luka Doncic (1.99). Now I’m not saying that Brunson is better than Doncic, but I’m also not not saying it either. Food for thought.

Basketball Robot AKA Dall Pal (AAKA DalBUTT): The Knicks will be in an ideal place if either RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley take this honor. If I had to bet, however, my money would be on Mitch or Brunson. 

Who is most likely to disappoint? Thibs. Year 1 we got Elfrid Payton shenanigans. Year 2 we got Kemba Walker, Alec Burks, and Quentin Grimes over Immanuel Quickley along with a mightily struggling Julius Randle over a breaking out Obi Toppin. I will not make Theoden’s mistake in the Two Towers when he asked: “Is this all you can conjure Sauraman?” Only to immediately have the walls of his fortress blown to smithereens. I feel certain Thibs is conjuring, the only question is WHAT is he conjuring? 

Sam: I think Brunson can fall into both categories for the simple fact that he COULD be our best player and most impactful in terms of what he brings to the offense. Those expectations, however, also lead me to be worried for what if he does not perform to those standards and how that looks. 

I do also think RJ has looked really good in preseason and if that’s forreal, then he and Brunson can be co-MVPs happily. 

My true worry(ies) lie in Hartenstein and Grimes. I echo the same sentiments Shwin expressed before and pointed them out on The Run.down (shameless plug) postgame show. Hartenstein appears very slow-footed and was taken advantage of in pick-and-pop situations with Andrew Nimrod Nembhard and Goga frickin Bitazde. It’s a bit concerning versus more capable benches. I do love his passing, though I wonder if that is enough to cover for his defensive deficiencies. 

Onto my concerns about Grimes, it's less about him and more about the gaudy expectations unfairly placed onto him by the media (Summer League hype), the front office (not included in trade talks allegedly), and fans. I am very high on Grimes becoming a very high end 3 and D player; however, due to the reasons above I feel as if he doesn’t approach certain benchmarks throughout the year, then fans could turn on him. Personally, I will not be turning on him as he’s already shown so much promise in a short amount of time unlike other wing sized players on the team. 

Geoff Rasmussen AKA FrankBarrett119: MVP will be RJ Barrett. It’s time. The leap that we have all been waiting on is about to happen. And it will be beautiful. Brunson will be very good as well, and how refreshing will it be to have a Point Guard Thibs trusts who can actually, ya know, do stuff? My biggest worry is Obi Toppin. Am I worried about Obi in an absolute vacuum? Absolutely not. I believe he’s legit and even bottoms out as a guy who will always process and connect at a high level with elite athleticism. With that being said, we have seen how his rhythm is affected by sporadic minutes and usage. Thibodeau isn’t playing Randle less than 30 minutes per game, and he’s also not playing Obi with him. That leaves Obi with roughly 18 minutes per game (when Randle plays), playing the majority of his minutes as a third option at best. It’s not difficult to imagine a world where he is relegated to be a floor spacer whose shot looks shaky because the team doesn’t let him get his feel for the game. I hope I am wrong.

Alex Wolfe: I think Jalen Brunson will end up the MVP of the team by year's end. And that's not a knock on RJ, or a revitalized Julius, or Obi, or Quickley, or anyone else. But Brunson really just is THE perfect fit for this team, leaving aside any nepotism involved with his signing. On a team with Julius and RJ occasionally taking the ball up or initiating the offense, it's important to have a guy at the point who can both do things with and without the ball. Elfrid Payton was useless both with and without the ball. Kemba Walker had his moments with the ball but was a husk of himself and was useless without it. Alec Burks was fairly good in both respects, but was not a point guard at all. He could break a defense down, but not do a damn thing if he got to the cup. Brunson does all of it, including being an elite spacer in transition, which he showed off all preseason. I'm thinking he'll average about 18 points and seven assists this year, but more important than the stats to this debate, he's going to raise the floor of this team considerably just by being a good point guard.

As far as missing expectations… I worry that Quentin Grimes won't necessarily be a virtuoso in his second year in the league, which is fine. And I actually started finding Evan Fournier's offensive role with the starters to be pretty interesting by the end of preseason, so I won't be super pressed if Grimes is still playing off the bench, as long as he gets decent minutes. That said, he was apparently a main sticking point of a Donovan Mitchell trade all offseason. Some people are for sure going to annoying about his performance if he's not at least a starter by midseason.

Who will take the biggest step this year among Obi, IQ, and Grimes?

Shwinnypooh: Obi. I think he’s more confident than he’s ever been and he seems ready to be more of an active force offensively, rather than passively being resigned to a corner three floor spacer. If he’s even around league average from three he’s going to be a completely devastating scorer off the bench, and maybe even more…

Derek: I’d guess Grimes. Everything out of the offseason and preseason statements from Thibs & Co. implies a huge amount of faith in him, which not only bodes well for his skill level, but also the opportunities he’ll receive. Just by virtue of personnel, he has the easiest track to a starting spot and/or big minutes of the trio. Grimes also probably has the easiest baseline from which to take a big step in the first place. Obi’s already 24 years old, IQ’s a stud but needs to add tougher tools to improve (e.g. finishing). Grimes can take a sophomore leap simply by continuing to rain threes and lock down the point of attack against better matchups more often, with maybe the slightest pinch of off-ball movement or on-ball creation.

Stacy: IQ. Obi is already a prolific scorer, it’s just a matter of proving he can shoot 35 percent from behind the line for a season. I’m tempted to pick Grimes, particularly given he has the best shot to start and showed real improvement off the bounce in summer league. With that said, IQ’s post-ASB stretch feels the most sustainable of any of the players here, and if he does get real minutes with Brunson I think they can light it up on offense.  

Drew: I’m with Shwin on this one. If Toppin is just league average from three this year, he’s going to be a goddamn monster off the bench. 

Basketball Robot: Obi has a chance to win this award, but for me that involves him putting the ball on the floor more consistently and starting to utilize some of the passing talent that was talked about when he was drafted. We’ve seen a bit of the former in preseason. The real question is whether Thibs will give him the chance to win this award…

My actual answer is IQ, though. Especially year-over-year. Last year his true shooting figure dipped after a rough shooting stretch, and I fully expect that to bounce back up league average for a guard this year. I fully expect him to get to the rim and make shots there as well, although he might have some growing pains early. The real question is whether he’ll be able to take the leap as a playmaker. We saw flashes towards the end of last season, but I want to see him do it consistently.

FrankBarrett119: Grimes. For two very clear reasons: 1) he has the most room to improve and 2) opportunity. As we have seen, Thibodeau has carved out a cute little role for Immanuel Quickley and seems determined not to let him break through the glass ceiling he has constructed. I mentioned my Obi concerns above. But it seems a matter of if, not when, Grimes usurps Evan Fournier as the team’s starting shooting guard. And there is very low hanging fruit for him — improved his ability to attack close-outs, for example — that we have already begun to see him grab.

Alex: Obi. He's the one of those three guys that seems like he really added a lot to his bag this offseason (Grimes is still an incomplete for now). Biggest issue, of course, is if he'll get enough playing time to show it. If he's scoring 30 per 36 minutes, is that enough for him to have "proved himself?" That's a Thibs question. But he's going to electrify every time he hits the floor.

Sam: I mean based off of preseason alone, it seems like it’s Obi. He looks every bit of the part. He’s been scoring with such ease and it looks like he has added so much to his game. I’ve noticed he’s looked more comfortable bringing the ball up and shooting the rock with confidence. I am absolutely praying he force’s Thibs coarse hands. Only reason I didn’t say IQ is because in my book, he’s already like that, it’s a matter of opportunity. 

Who will be the best Knick off the bench?

Derek: As long as one of the team’s best players in Immanuel Quickley comes off the bench, he will always be the answer here. Even if you only like IQ “in his role,” as a bench guard, he’s shown the ability to thrive there no matter the lineup and level of ball-handling responsibilities.

Stacy: What Derek said.  

Drew: Archie Diacono… I’m kidding. It’s obviously Immanuel Quickley.

Basketball Robot: GOD’S SON

FrankBarrett119: Derrick Rose if he stays healthy. Quickley if not.

Alex: It's still Obi. Boring to go with the same guy twice in a row but I think he's going to put up absolutely bonkers per-minute and impact numbers in whatever bench minutes he's able to secure.

Sam: The conglomerate of Obi and IQ will be the best Knick.

What will be the Knicks’ record?

Shwinnypooh: 43–39

Derek: 42–40

Stacy: 42–40

Drew: 38–44. What? Thibs and Randle are still on the roster.

Basketball Robot: I think the Knicks will be above .500 – they played like a .500 team last year with Thibs failing to maximize the roster, 37 games of Kemba Walker, Julius Randle struggling, and about 25 games of Mitch being out of shape. We also were one of the worst teams in high leverage situations and I think Jalen Brunson will make a difference there. Finally, I also expect development from RJ, IQ, Mitch, Obi, and Grimes and regression (to the good!) from Randle. The East is a lot better this year, but I’m going to one up Shwin and say 44–38.

Drew: Only Dallas would write an essay for a five character at minimum answer.

FrankBarrett119: 44–38

Alex: 42–40

Sam: 37–45… same reasons as Drew. Expectations are low so I don’t get disappointed.

Who will lead the Knicks in scoring?

Shwinnypooh: Jalen Brunson. He’s the best player on the team and everybody seems to understand and work around that fact even if Julius forgets sometimes.

Derek: Rj Barrett. From the second half of last season, through the preseason to an even bigger extent, he appears to finally be the focal point of the team’s offense. With his free reign and durability, even the smallest of efficiency gains over last season should make him the team’s top scorer.

Stacy: Jalen Brunson. He’s the only bonafide 3-level scorer on the team, he is the prototypical Thibs’ point guard (and Thibs loves him) and consequently is going to have the ball a ton, and he’s a scaling-up-from-three away from making this question laughable. I won’t complain if RJ proves me wrong though.  

Drew: Look, Barrett already has the volume and the shot diet. If he gets to just 55 true shooting on similar volume, it’s going to be him, unless Brunson is hitting threes.

Basketball Robot: RJ Barrett. LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOO.

FrankBarrett119: RJ Barrett

Alex: RJ Barrett. I think he's going to average about 23 a game, Brunson around 18–20, Randle also around 18–20, and they'll be the top three with a bunch of other dudes in the low 10s.

Sam: RJ, it seems he’s picked the low hanging fruit from years prior to bump up that scoring average.

Will the Knicks eventually trade Cam Reddish and if so, what for?

Shwinnypooh: I’m actually going to go ahead and say no, mostly because I’m not convinced they will just dump him for whatever asset(s) they can get back in return. I also don’t see a major consolidation trade coming for the Knicks that his salary could be aggregated into before the trade deadline.

Derek: I’d guess yes, since all indications are that not only does the coaching staff not believe in him, but he hasn’t performed enough in his small opportunities either. Given how deep the Knicks roster is (it’s true!), that won’t change barring disaster. With restricted free agency a perk for his team in the upcoming offseason, it’s probably worth one of the rebuilding teams taking a flier.

Basketball Robot: My comment is above Drew’s (despite his best efforts)!

Drew: Why are we talking about trading #CamFam?! He’s like if Tracy McGrady played minutes for a Conference Finals team. 

Sam: YES! Hopefully for a bag of kettle chips. 

FrankBarrett119: Not unless he requests one, which is a very real possibility. This front office is all about optics. Trading someone you gave up a protected first round pick for, less than a year later, for pennies on the dollar, is a bad look.

Alex: If he requests a trade, then sure. But Reddish and his agent might see riding it out with the Knicks as a better move. Asking for two trades in the span of one rookie deal when you haven't played particularly well won't be very kind to him in free agency next summer. So I think both parties will just ride it out.

Do the Knicks make a big trade to consolidate for a star or simply a rotation upgrade in season?

Shwinnypooh: Nope. This is the team for this season, more or less.

Derek: If they do, that’s probably good news for how the team is performing, but my gut would say no given how much this front office of late has appeared to prioritize continuity. Let’s also mention the lack of easy options. They could look to upgrade at off-guard, for example. As much as fans want a different power forward, that position seems extremely unlikely given they’d have to move and/or bench Randle and his contract.

Stacy: Not this year. It’s tough to get a feel for what kind of veteran pieces will be available, but I think a rotation upgrade (maybe a wing?  Harrison Barnes?) isn’t out of the question, though I’m not sure of the cap implications (please don’t kill me Jeremy Cohen).  

Basketball Robot: If a star becomes available, it’s entirely possible. I’m a bit skeptical that that will happen midseason… although if the Celtics season goes poorly, it might be worth keeping an eye on Jaylen Brown. 

Drew: Don’t listen to Dallas and his support for anti-vaxxer Jaylen Brown. The Suns are going to blow it up midseason and Devin Booker will become a New York Knick. Book It!

FrankBarrett119: They’re in a weird spot. Tons of depth but not a lot of great consolidation options. I think they’ll see this team through the season. Although I could see a small upgrade if an injury occurs.

Alex: If the right guy (SGA?) becomes available, they'll do it. At least two of their somewhat bigger value assets expire this year, both theirs and Dallas's 2023 picks. Granted, we've seen this team trade back/out of drafts to kick the can further down the line, so maybe there won't be any urgency there. But yeah, unless that perfect star becomes available before the deadline, they'll probably just sit out of the trade market.

Sam: I personally don’t see it even if the right guy becomes available, especially after what happened this offseason. Do you really want to give your fanbase blueballs twice in one calendar year with the annoying speculations that come with that pursuit?

What is your biggest concern with Thibs going into this season?

Derek: His inability to catalyze offense for the team, hand in hand with his enabling of old Julius Randle tendencies.

Stacy: Will he let the Knicks play fast? Every single player on this team (ESPECIALLY Julius Randle) is much more effective when they can attack still-adjusting defenses. WIll Thibs uphold the mantra that the Knicks have been pushing this offseason?  

Basketball Robot: Honestly, he looks to have made some much needed adjustments this offseason. My biggest remaining concerns are: how he controls end of game scenarios, and what he does with Obi’s minutes.  

Drew: If Thibs shaves his beard, will he revert back to a Julius-centric offense?

FrankBarrett119: Rotations. Thibs has never been one to stagger, but the Knicks cannot be playing multiple stretches a game with all three of Brunson, Barrett and Randle on the bench. It’s a ludicrous strategy both from a team optimization standpoint as well as a player empowerment one. Regardless of how well they gel, it’s essential to mix and match so that at least one is always on the court. It also is not difficult to do.

A close second is the bland offensive playcalling. I’m not sure I can do another season of relentless [insert ball handler]-5 pick-&-roll with the occasional Spain or Pistol tossed in. There needs to be more, especially with a team devoid of top top end talent.

Alex: Will he play Randle and Obi together? Among the many things Obi seems to have worked on this summer is rim protection, at least to my eye. His timing getting into the paint for blocks and contests with the bench unit has looked really good. Granted, I didn't watch the tape 69 times like Thibs, so I'm probably just playing fantasy basketball and it's not at all worth exploring playing two guys together that could be your two best players on any given night.

Sam: My biggest concern is him still being here. He won’t play Obi and Randle together, he won’t stagger, he won’t experiment, he won’t let them play fast over a whole season stretch. Why is he still here? 

What constitutes a successful season for the Knicks this year and do you believe they will meet those targets?

Shwinnypooh: Going around .500, qualifying for the playoffs (even via the play-in), and the team’s core of young players contributing significantly to meeting those targets.

Derek: The highest priority for a successful season sees significant marked growth from three out of the four of RJ, IQ/], Obi, Grimes, as well as performances from Brunson and Randle that, if not outplay the significant investments behind them, at least net out close to expected for their contracts. That puts the Knicks in a great place long term, and if it manifests in a playoff berth this season too, that’s an added bonus.

Stacy: Making the playoffs (with or without play-in) with either Randle proving himself to be a plus player as the third option or Obi taking that spot over and incremental improvement from RJ, IQ, and Grimes.  

Basketball Robot: The most important thing is to have our young guys materialize into stars (even low-end stars). We’re not going to win the chip, so I’m not really going to be too concerned about exactly what the record ends up being IFFFFF the Knicks develop their young guys and see genuine progress. 

Drew: Besides trading Randle and firing Thibs, Barrett having efficiency improvements an Quickley getting consistent burn whether off the bench or as a starter will be a successful season. Not really concerned about wins since if the above happens, the wins will stack up, baby!

FrankBarrett119: Answering the questions that have not even been asked yet. Who are Grimes, Quickley, and Toppin? What can they be? Who fits the best with Brunson and RJ? We CANNOT have another season like last. 

Alex: Go about .500, but also be smart enough to pull the plug and shamelessly tank if things aren't going right by the first ⅓ or so of the season. Really, to me, this season is unlosable as long as the Knicks stay realistic throughout the process, and don't stubbornly cling to "trying to win" if they're soundly out of the playoff picture at some point. If it means firing Thibs and telling Johnnie Bryant to tank it up, so be it. This is THE year to maximize ping-pong balls if things go belly up, and the Knicks almost never do that.

Sam: Got to agree with what everyone said above, especially Geoff. We absolutely can’t have another year of not knowing fully, what our young guys are at this point in their careers and what lineups we can use to best maximize their talent. We have two of our faves in Obi and IQ about to be due for extensions. It would be malpractice to not know what they can be as well as how they can supplement the development and continued growth of guys like RJ and Brunson.

What will be the biggest positive surprise?

Shwinnypooh: Quentin Grimes moves into the starting lineup over Evan Fournier by the end of November.

Derek: I think Thibs experiments more this year than he had in years past. The honeymoon period is over, and he needs to first find and then push the right buttons in what could be a prove-it season.

Stacy: What Shwin said and also Randle being able to fit in as a third option next to Brunson and Randle.  

Basketball Robot: Randle’s defense or Thibs coaching. Regarding the former, Thibs has started using Randle as a switch defender this preseason, and he looks engaged and effective. Regarding the latter, he started using Randle as a switch defender! (amongst other things). 

Drew: RJ Barrett is going to break Evan Fournier’s 3-point field goals made record.

FrankBarrett119: Randle posts career high AST/TOV rate.

Alex: Julius Randle redeems himself, in an every other year tradition like no other. He's one guy where preseason seems to always be an accurate read of what he's going to do during the year, and his preseason was great.

Sam: No. 30 getting traded. But seriously it would have to be Thibs experimenting and staggering and trying so many different lineups based upon matchups as well as playing the lineups that are the most successful, the most. 

What will be the biggest negative surprise?

Shwinnypooh: Hartenstein impresses individually, but the bench group performs better on both ends with Sims.

Derek: RK’s defense was a disturbing trend last season. As his usage increased, and his defensive matchups remained difficult, he became something of a sieve at times in a year many hoped defense would be his strongest growth area. Massive asterisk for preseason, but those trends certainly continued this October. From backdoor cuts to blow-bys, I do worry a bit he’ll be a negative there again this season — given the poor construction of the starting lineup (most notably at point of attack) defensively — for a guy with a ton of defensive potential and acumen, most notably in his sophomore season,.

Stacy: Fournier and Brunson do not hold up defensively against teams with multiple high-level backcourt creators like Chicago and it costs the Knicks games.  

Basketball Robot: Nothing negative will happen to this season. For I, the Basketball Robot, have blessed it. 

Drew: No one is going to learn how to play or use Hartenstein and he’ll fall out of the rotation.

FrankBarrett119: Fournier starts the entire season

Alex: Obi and Randle finish the year with less than 20 minutes on the floor together. Hate to keep going back to this well but it's easily my biggest annoyance.

Sam: There are no negative surprises. There are no more surprises with a Thibs team at this point, just disappointments 

Which Knick will show the most improvement?

Shwinnypooh: Quentin Grimes

Derek: Hold up Shwin, didn’t you say Obi before? Was my argument for Grimes that good? Yeah, I’ll go Grimes again, but honorable mention for Julius Randle, who truly has the lowest of bars to clear to make a positive impression this season.

Shwinnypooh: I interpreted the earlier question a little bit different, in that I think Obi will take the biggest step in terms of wrestling away more minutes at a more competitive position, given Thibs’ devotion to playing his starters and never playing Obi and Randle together, but I think Grimes shows the most improvement in his game. Obi really just needs more minutes to keep doing what he already has been doing for awhile now.

Stacy: IQ.  

Basketball Robot: Might be RJ, might be IQ, might be Obi, might be Mitch, very well might be Brunson…. Definitely WILL NOT be Grimes. 

Drew: It’s going to be Obi Toppin. 

FrankBarrett119: RJ Barrett.

Alex: Still Obi!

Sam: I am also on the Obi hype train. 

If you could make one (reasonable) trade right now for the Knicks, what would it be (no trading Julius Randle does not count as reasonable)?

Derek: Poach Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and Derrick Favors) from the Thunder, for Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, Jericho Sims, Cam Reddish, 3 unprotected first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap.

Basketball Robot: Trade Thibs for a protected 2nd (I KID (or do I??)). 

Drew: I would not make any trades right now. Well, I’m not allowed to trade Randle in this prompt and trading the coach isn’t realistic at all. 

For just one season, it would be nice to actually see the young players play actual minutes together for more than like four-minutes stints per game. You don’t even need to trade players in a consolidation deal. Immanuel Quickley can get all of the “backup” minutes for both guard spots. Fournier comes in for Barrett. Randle backups Toppin, and because Thibbie Dibbie is a platoon subber, there would be a Randle-Fournier two-man game. Then insert Big Zeke or Jericho as Robinson’s backup. It’s sitting right there, but of course, Tom Thibodeau. And yes, I did turn this into an anti-Thibs rant. 

Actually, doing this made realize I forgot Derrick Rose in that hypothetical rotation. Well, here is the reasonable trade: Derrick Rose to whatever playoff team needs a veteran point guard for whatever pick they’re willing to offer. That’s the reasonable trade proposal. 

FrankBarrett119: I think you have to let this iteration of the team play out, for now. You don’t want to be stuck in purgatory, but there is a path to having your cake and eating it too with this roster. It’s up to Thibs to make it work. If he continues to prove he is unable (or unwilling) to do so? The trade deadline should be very interesting, and, if the Knicks are struggling, I’d expect to see Rose, Fournier, and potentially Randle on the block.

Alex: I'd trade Rose, Cam, and Fournier to the Lakers for Russell Westbrook and at least a first and a handful of seconds, but I'd ask for two firsts. Then immediately cut Russ. Trading Rose and Fournier frees up minutes for IQ and Grimes, but also for Deuce, who's been one of the most impactful young guys on this team when he's on the floor. The Knicks also only have this year and next to evaluate Deuce before he hits restricted free agency in 2024.

Shwinnypooh: Cam, Fournier, a top-5 protected 2024 pick, plus two additional protected firsts for Keldon Johnson.

Sam: First, BOOOOO,  for not being able to trade #30. Second, I’d do some variation of the ones above that include Cam and Fournier. They’re probably the two most annoying Knicks outside of #30 and Thibs in my book and getting rid of them allows for more openings in the rotation for an Immanuel Quickley, a Deuce McBride, a Quentin Grimes. 

I would also just finally trade Rose to a playoff team. 

How well do you think this roundtable will age?

Drew: Not well at all.

Basketball Robot: Shwin’s predictions, specifically, will not age well. Everyone else’s will be perfect (for those that are inconsistent, this world will branch into many and each prediction will come true in at least one of those worlds). 

FrankBarrett119: My predictions will age phenomenally. Unless I am wrong, and I am never wrong (Prince Humperdinck voice).

Alex: Terribly, as always.

Shwinnypooh: DallASS imo

Sam: I hope in terms of team success they age horribly, but for player development I hope they age like fine wine.