In a historic deadline that saw 15 completed deals, 49 players moved, and 44 draft picks traded, the Knicks were far from the forefront of trade deadline attention. New York did make a trade for Josh Hart which saw the New York send Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from New York) to Portland. About 3 hours later, this news would quickly be dwarfed by the Kevin Durant blockbuster trade to the Suns.
The Nets already moved Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks a few days prior to moving Durant to the Suns. These moves combined with the James Harden trade at the trade deadline last year has officially ended the Nets "Big 3" era. Although these moves did not directly impact the Knicks, there could be an impact on the two New York based teams as the season continues.
Did The Nets Help The Knicks?
For the past few weeks, the Knicks have been stuck at the seventh seed trailing behind the Miami Heat for the 6th seed. Of course, this difference in seeding is incredibly important because the 7th seed has to participate in the play-in tournament while the sixth seed does not. Prior to a few days ago, it appeared Miami and New York would be battling for the 6th seed for the remainder of the season, as the 5th seed and up has decent separation from Miami, and the 8th seed and below have some separation from New York. However, the Nets moves may have altered that outlook.
Currently, the Nets are the 5th seed and hold a record of 33-23 as they have lost 3 of their last 4 games. As a result, Miami is only 1.5 games behind Brooklyn as they sit at 32-25. The Knicks sit 1.5 games behind Miami at 31-27. One week ago, there was not much thought of the Nets falling any lower than the 5th seed. Brooklyn had been struggling, but Kevin Durant was due back from injury soon. That of course is no longer close to the case after Irving and Durant were traded.
The Nets starting lineup now consists of Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Nic Claxton. Clearly, this core of players does not provide the same type of threat that the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving did for the first half of the season, and as a result this Brooklyn team no longer fits in the tier of top teams in the Eastern Conference.
From the Knicks point of view, a Brooklyn blow-up provides New York a far better chance of avoiding the play-in tournament. For almost the past month it looked like Miami and New York would be battling for the 6th seed, but with the moves Brooklyn made, the fifth seed is certainly in reach for both New York and Miami.
This is not to say that the Nets will be plummeting down the standings because of these trades. Obviously a championship is unlikely for the Nets now, however the Nets did get back numerous quality players that can contribute to a winning team right now. All four of the players the Nets received made their debuts in the starting lineup Saturday against the 76ers, and although Brooklyn eventually lost, the team played an incredibly competitive game against one of the favorites in the East. The fight for the 5th and 6th seed will undoubtedly be competitive down the stretch between all three of these teams.
Knicks Help Themselves
Although it was not the biggest move of the deadline, getting Josh Hart in a Knicks' uniform could prove to be a very important acquisition for New York as the season goes on. The former Villanova teammate of Jalen Brunson as well as Laker teammate of Julius Randle looks like the perfect addition to this roster on paper, and he proved that in his first game on Saturday against the Jazz.
New York has been searching for a more depth on the wing as Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish failed to fill those minutes. Over the past few years Josh Hart has been one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA as at 6'4" he defends the perimeter at a high level, but what makes his game really intriguing is his ability to rebound. Hart averages an astounding 8.2 rebounds a game which is almost unheard of at his height. But after watching just one game of his on Saturday, it is clear why he has the success he has on the boards. In Hart's own words: "I'm a dog."
"Like I said before, I'm a dog"
Welcome to New York, @joshhart 🗽 pic.twitter.com/rQOYMQ446t
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) February 12, 2023
This type of hustle and willingness to do the dirty work is exactly who Josh Hart is as a player and is the type of player that any winning team has. Hart came off the bench in his first game, but in just 13 minutes of play time, he already proved to Tom Thibodeau that he was deserving of being on the floor in the final minutes of a close game. Hart played the entire 4th quarter, and in doing so made two enormous threes, had four rebounds, and a steal. For the game Hart had 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and an impressive four steals.
It is already evident that Josh Hart is willing to do whatever it takes for his team to win. He is the exact presence that this Knicks team has been missing all year, and it would not be shocking at all if he moves into the starting lineup ahead of Quentin Grimes.
The rest of this season will be very intriguing to watch as there is no doubt that the 5th, 6th, and 7th seed will fluctuate as the year progresses. Although the Knicks have the most ground to make up between themselves, Miami, and Brooklyn, the trade deadline seems very favorable for the Knicks chances of moving out of the play-in and up the Eastern Conference standings.
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