CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ In boardrooms and on blackboards it is simple to map out a rebuilding plan, and the Knicks made their plan more than a year ago, plotting out how they would hoard their young assets, players and draft picks and, perhaps most important, clear cap space to be big-time players when the free-agent class of 2019 went on the market.
But those plans that end well in theory don't always come to fruition, so there are turning points. And the Knicks are facing one right now.
With the news, first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, that Rich Paul, the agent for All-Star Anthony Davis, has informed the Pelicans that Davis will not sign an extension with the franchise and wants to be traded, the Knicks must consider just how good their plan is.
While the Lakers, where Paul's most famous client, LeBron James, is trying to join forces with another star, are considered the favorite and the team that Davis would like to be directed toward, ESPN reported that the Knicks will be aggressive in trying to acquire Davis.
"Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship," Paul told ESPN. "Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that's the reason for informing them of this decision now. That's in the best interests of both Anthony's and the organization's future."
Wanting to compete for a championship certainly pushes the Knicks down the list as they head into their Monday night game against the Hornets with a nine-game losing streak and a 10-38 record. And that is the problem that the Knicks will face this summer as they try to lure the likes of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving or even Charlotte's Kemba Walker to sign on.
The Knicks' pitch in free agency will include the 2019 lottery pick with the dream that it will bring Duke's Zion Williamson, Kristaps Porzingis returning from his year rehabbing from a torn ACL and a handful of marginally promising young players.
The competition for the available stars is not only luring them from their own teams _ far better teams currently than the Knicks _ but also having a better sales pitch that can promise adding them to another superstar. So the temptation to enter the trade talks is hard to resist as the plan no longer is some distant promise.
But to obtain a player like Davis, who will turn 26 in March, would almost certainly require the Knicks to turn away from the plans they have put in place. Any deal would certainly ask for this summer's draft pick or Porzingis _ or perhaps both, robbing the Knicks of the assets they are trying to assemble.
"At the end of the day we're together," coach David Fizdale said before the season began. "This is a full-fledged plan that we are all coming together. We've had so many talks about the process that we want to take and the plan that we set forth, how we want to build it from the ground up culturally, like the way Steve (Mills) is talking about. We don't want to jump at the shiny things. We want to make solid decisions and be patient with this process and I'm a big part of that patience."
But that patience can go on a long time when the Warriors are still dominating the NBA and James is trying to assemble another superteam with the Lakers.
"Unfortunately for New York fans, you've got to have patience," Dwyane Wade said of the Knicks' rebuilding efforts on Sunday. "I know New York fans are like, we've had patience. But you can't win if you don't have the right talent around. Look in this league, to compete you've got to compete against DeMarcus (Cousins), Steph (Curry), Klay (Thompson), Draymond (Green) and Kevin Durant. So you all can be patient. It's going to be a while."
