The New York Knicks have won the NBA Cup Championship.
After last night’s 124-113 victory against the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks have won its first title since 1999 when it won the Eastern Conference title. In that season, ironically, the Spurs beat the Knicks for the NBA Finals title.
The Knicks, winning the Cup last night, announced they will not hang a banner at Madsion Square Garden when the team returns home on Friday to play the Philadelphia 76ers.
New York is the third team to win the NBA Cup following the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. The two prior champions have each hoisted a banner in their respective arenas.
The NBA Cup is a good indicator as to how good teams are heading into the two-month mark of the season. The two finalists are typically front runners for the NBA Finals. While New York is favored to come out of the East, the Spurs are still behind the likes of the reigning NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets and the Lakers.
The Spurs had to go through the Thunder in order to play the Knicks, which gives the Thunder two losses on the season. Anything can happen.
And anything can happen with the Trade Deadline looming as teams look to restructure their rosters and go all in for the NBA Finals.
Brooklyn Nets (7-18)
Results this week: 119-111 lost at Dallas, 127-82 win vs. Milwaukee.
Wishlist: draft assets/any veteran
The Nets are not going all in this season. Shocker, I know.
But Brooklyn will be active in trying to acquire more draft assets. Teams around the league will be most interested in Cam Thomas, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Brooklyn also has a ton of cap space and are the bottom in the league regarding how much money it has in contracts. The Nets are $55.8 million under the first apron, which means they could feasibly take on any big-time contract and not have any repercussions with the salary cap.
They aren’t going to be the destinations for Giannis Antetokounmpo or even Anthony Davis, but there will be teams looking to make room to bring those guys on their team. Dumping off salary to the Nets with draft picks will be Brooklyn’s key this Trade Deadline.
New York Knicks (18-7)
Results this week: 132-120 win vs. Orlando, 124-113 win vs. San Antonio.
Wishlist: Giannis Antetokounmpo
This was a no-brainer.
While New York just won an NBA Cup title, the more pressing matter and more desirable title comes in June.
For the Knicks to land Antetokounmpo, New York needs to clear a lot of cap space. If this trade were to happen, it would need to be a multi-team deal that shakes the landscape of the NBA.
The Knicks have two expiring contracts with Mitchell Robinson and Guerschon Yabusele. While that clears almost $20 million, the Knicks are still above the first apron and will need even more space to take on that contract.
The backup plan might be Anthony Davis. While the big man is a proven force that has dominated the NBA since he got drafted, it’s the wear and tear that Davis is prone to that makes that acquisition scary. He does help the Knicks if he’s healthy, but how likely is that?
Philadelphia 76ers (14-11)
Results this week: 115-105 win vs. Indiana, 120-117 loss at Atlanta.
Wishlist: Support for young stars, aid for veterans
With an aging and hurt core with Joel Embiid and Paul George, but have the bright, young talent of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the 76ers are at a crossroads.
Could they move George or Embiid to give the younger players more time to develop? Sure, but the most likely, and safe, outcome will be acquiring small role players to help both ends of the spectrum.
Firstly, there is a need to dump salary before trading for anyone. Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond are all players that need to be moved for the team to bring on talent that helps it out.
Watch for names like Keon Ellis from Sacramento or Yves Missi from New Orleans to be targets for Philly once some salaries are dumped.
