Knicks’ Finals blueprint could push Rockets toward uncomfortable trade decision

The New York Knicks have created an NBA Finals roster through trades and savvy signings. Only one player in their playoff rotation, Mitchell Robinson, was drafted by the team.

Rafael Stone and the Houston Rockets front office should take lessons from the Knicks. Houston has already built a winning young core, but how does this team take the next step? The Knicks, Spurs, and Thunder have taught us that to win at the highest level, teams need multiple top-end starters.

New York was once in a similar position to Houston

After the 2023 season, the Knicks were in a similar position to Houston. They had made their first playoff appearance with their young core, but their front office was not convinced this group could win a championship. 

Midway through the next season, New York traded two starters, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, to Toronto for OG Anunoby. That move helped propel the Knicks to where they are today.

Will Houston need to consider making a similar transaction? Quickley and Barrett were both young, quality NBA players, but they did not have the same two-way impact as a player like Anunoby.

Could the same be said about players like Jabari Smith Jr. or Tari Eason? Both of those players are good, but could Houston eventually package those valuable young players together to land one great player?

New York did not draft Donte DiVincenzo or Julius Randle, but in a similar move, the Knicks traded those players away to get back an even better player in Karl-Anthony Towns. Could Houston find a similar trade to get back an All-Star?

New York was not afraid to make the difficult move

Both the Towns and Anunoby trades were met with mixed reviews, but both were critical to the run New York has gone on. What stood out about both trades is that New York was not in a position of desperation when they were completed.

It would have been justifiable for New York to hold onto Quickley and Barrett and try to grow its young core together. That logic sounds similar to Houston’s current position. Keeping the Rockets’ young core intact is a totally understandable approach, but can they win a championship that way?

Ultimately, only time will tell. But with this current Rockets core, it is hard to see Houston matching the quality and depth of the Knicks, Spurs or Thunder without eventually making another major move. Rafael Stone may have to scour the trade market to find his own Knicks-style consolidation trade, even if that means making a difficult decision with Houston’s young core.

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