When the Knicks gathered for training camp in September, they were very clear about their plan: patience. David Fizdale sat on a stage next to general manager Scott Perry and team president Steve Mills and they laid it all out.
"We don't want to jump at the shiny things," Fizdale said.
Mills jumped in and said, "We're committed to following the plan and not just shifting, pivoting, because we see something that is attractive and might fast-track something. I've seen that happen and go wrong too many times. That's not what we're doing."
Anthony Davis' agent announced Monday morning that his client would not re-sign with the Pelicans and wanted to be traded, and the NBA fined Davis $50,000 for publicly demanding a trade. Davis will be hitting the market in his prime and is the sort of franchise cornerstone that could set the Knicks up for a decade. Ideal, right?
One NBA source indicated the Knicks, like most teams, would engage with the Pelicans and try to find a way into the negotiations. But to get into the mix for Davis would require the sort of shift that would break apart the Knicks' plan before it could get started. The teams that have figured to be the front-runners for Davis have a huge head start.
The Lakers have Davis' friend and fellow Klutch Sports client LeBron James. ESPN reported Tuesday that multiple sources expect Davis to inform teams that he would not sign an extension in 2020 with any team but the Lakers, tempering offers from other hopeful front offices, including the Knicks.
The Celtics have been rumored to covet Davis and have the young talent and draft picks to assemble the best return for the Pelicans in the summer.
For the Knicks to acquire Davis would mean packaging a huge return for the Pelicans, ditching the slow build and asset accumulating. Start with Kristaps Porzingis or this year's lottery pick as the primary selling point and then start piling on pieces. Would Porzingis and a first-rounder be required? Porzingis doesn't make anything close in salary to Davis _ and is not signed past this season.
The Pelicans could find themselves in the same situation. To make the deal work, they would have to be willing to take back one of the Knicks' bigger salary pieces. Enes Kanter isn't part of the Knicks' plans and has an expiring contract. But for the Knicks to be a player in this summer's free-agent market would mean attaching a contract such as Tim Hardaway Jr.'s.
Davis has been an All-Star in New Orleans, but the Pelicans have never been close to contending for a championship. If the Knicks could get Davis, could they keep enough young pieces in place to make it work? Could they still clear enough cap space with his $27 million salary to bring in a star free agent, lured by the chance to play with Davis? Remember Carmelo Anthony? The Knicks sent a bushel of young talent to the Nuggets to acquire Anthony rather than waiting for free agency and never could put the talent around him to make the franchise a contender.
For the Knicks, the risk is they could strike out in free agency. Bringing in a player to try to convince him to remain long-term _ and arming themselves with the ability to pay more _ is the failsafe for some teams. The Raptors gambled on bringing Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, and the Sixers opted to trade for Jimmy Butler.
If the Knicks could add a star in free agency, with or without Davis, their plan would remain in motion. If they could get Davis in a deal that left them with cap space and used him to tempt another star to sign on, it would even jump them ahead in their rebuild.
"We're still stuck to our plan strategically that if it makes sense, then we're going to make those moves," Fizdale said Monday. "But if it doesn't, we're going to keep forging ahead with growing our guys and developing it the right way."
