Is RJ Barrett a rising stock or a falling one?
He’s neither.
What do you think is the strongest word in the English language? While you roll that around your noggin, here’s another question: did you realize the New York Knicks have become the New York Rangers? The pre-1994 Rangers, to be exact. With one key difference.
Before ‘94, the Rangers were the New York City sports team infamous for a title drought. After winning the Stanley Cup in 1928, — their second season — and three of the NHL’s first 14, the last in 1940, the Rangers went the better part of a century without hoisting one again. Fans in rival arenas would chant “Nine-teen For-ty!” when New York faced a season-ending L on the road. At the start of the 1991-92 season, they swung a seismic trade for Mark Messier, earned the best record in the league, then blew a 2-1 series lead and 3-1 Game 4 lead, falling to the Penguins in the second round thanks in part to this soft goal let in by Mike Richter.
1992 was Richter’s third season. We’ll come back to him.
Two years later at the trade deadline, the Rangers again had the best record; a flurry of last-minute moves added four new players to the mix. It was a helluva gamble, given the success the team had had to that point. But their one and only goal was to win the Stanley Cup. You’re allowed to swing for the fences when only a home run will do, especially if you’ve already shown warning-track power.
The Knicks have succeeded the Rangers as NYC’s title bridesmaid (technically that dishonor belongs to the Jets, but now that they have Aaron Rodgers the Super Bowl is clearly just a matter of when and not if, natch). The Knickerbocker drought is now nearly as long (51 years) as the Rangers was (54). And just like the Rangers, the Knicks get a lot of grief about it. Their grief differs in one way noticeable way, though. With the Blueshirts, that energy came mostly from opposing fans in Uniondale, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. Maybe Washington.
With the Knicks, those calls are coming from inside the house.
The pressure for New York to finally win it all does not burn brightest within Leon Rose’s front office, nor the many dogs residing within Jalen Brunson, nor the beating of Tom Thibodeau’s hideous heart. The pressure is greatest within the fanbase itself – now more than ever, I suspect, and not only because absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we’ve had nothing but absence begetting fondness. No, more than any other NYC fan base I can think of, there is a persecution complex among a sizable number of Knicks fans. It’s not enough to mourn the team’s competitive failings; enemies within the league itself, the local and national press, other fan bases and NBA Twitter all take a sick pride in Knickenfreude. The pressure to win is as boiler-cooker high as it was 30 years ago with the Rangers, only now it’s chronically online, too.
The Knicks are not merely tasked with winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but with showing us signs along the way that let us know the days of famine are ended, and it’s nothing but manna, milk and honey from here on out. Which brings us to Rowan Barrett Junior. The knife’s edge. The odd number’s midpoint. The spinning coin: perfectly balanced while unresolved.
Some say RJ’s had plenty of time to show what he can and can’t do by now, that the can’t has won and the best thing to do is trade him soon as you can for as much as you can. Can’t afford another Obi deal; Lord knows few teams survive such a poor return for their eighth man. Now that Barrett’s second contract is kicking in, time to make him the centerpiece of the long-awaited Messiah X trade. His stock is only going to drop. Maximize that ass(et) now.
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