![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!WIkQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9262dcf-9e78-44d3-a9b1-b140c38bb02c_794x570.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSix and a half years ago, a few weeks before the 2020 trade deadline, the illustrious Marc Berman of the NY Post wrote a piece<\/a> imploring the Knicks to explore trading for Detroit\u2019s Andre Drummond.<\/p>\n At that time, Drummond was less than two years removed from his most recent All-Star appearance for the Pistons, and was still just 26 years old. The Mount Vernon product was on his way to a third consecutive season leading the league in rebounds, his seventh straight finishing first in offensive rebounds, and his third time in five years getting a few Defensive Player of the Year votes.<\/p>\n Berman\u2019s two-fold logic went beyond Drummond simply being a good player. First, he was unsure about second-year pro Mitchell Robinson, writing that it was \u201canyone\u2019s guess whether he will emerge as a true standout.\u201d Second, he thought \u2018Dre was their best option as a star center target, but only because they were unlikely to catch the biggest fish. To wit:<\/p>\n As much as the Knicks are monitoring Minnesota\u2019s injured big man, Karl-Anthony Towns of New Jersey, he probably won\u2019t fall into their laps anytime soon.<\/p>\n Turns out, Berman was right. Towns didn\u2019t fall into New York\u2019s lap for another four and a half years, and for as much as Robinson grew as core player for the organization that drafted him, he reached his full potential as a backup on a strict usage plan, not as a full-time starter.<\/p>\n Even so, it\u2019s hard not to chuckle looking back on that article now, with the Knicks signing Drummond to replace Mitch as KAT\u2019s backup on Friday night. Part of the humor comes from the fact that early 2020 was probably the last time Andre could be considered a superior player to Robinson. It\u2019s also the last time an article like this actually struck fear into the hearts of Knicks fans, as Steve Mills would be fired two weeks later in favor of a man who turned out to be far more trustworthy.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the money, which is where things really come full circle. Drummond was making $27 million at the time compared to $1.5 million for Robinson. Now, Mitch is inked to a new three-year, $47.4 million contract, while the two-time All-Star will play on a veteran minimum deal. The reason the Knicks needed to go bargain hunting is because of hefty expenditures elsewhere on the roster, none of which are heftier than Towns, who \u201cfell into their laps\u201d because of his contract more than anything else.<\/p>\n That cost-cutting mandate from James Dolan has already been well-documented, and Ray Marcano has a special guest column below detailing why the situation isn\u2019t as clear cut as we might think. Regardless, no one is going to care about Dolan\u2019s reasons if Drummond can\u2019t be a reasonable facsimile of Robinson, even if that facsimile is still a shell of the guy Berman wrote about in 2020.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll go into a bit more detail on the 2026 version of Drummond tomorrow, but suffice it to say that he was available on the minimum for a reason. New York\u2019s new backup is probably a borderline top-40 big man at this point in his career. He\u2019s not suddenly going to find the fountain of youth, and his success or failure will likely depend on how well the Knicks can maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.<\/p>\n That being said (spoiler alert), if the Knicks think Drummond is the answer in April, May and June, they\u2019re asking the wrong questions. This signing is a half measure in no uncertain terms. Even if Drummond is a better player at this point in his career than I\u2019m giving him credit for, the Knicks just added two major questions to their title defense:<\/p>\n Question No. 1: How much will they be impacted by the re-jiggered East? It\u2019s early, and there are still moves to be made, but I find it quite relevant that on my own personal big board, I currently have neither last year\u2019s No. 1 seed or the team that traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo as top-six teams in the conference. The Cavs are currently heavy front-runners for LeBron James. The Celtics made a trade we\u2019re all still wrapping our heads around, but they\u2019re also replacing Brown with a full season of Tatum and adding Mitch and Paul George to a 56-win core. Even if Tyrese Haliburton takes a bit to get his sea legs under him, the Pacers are adding Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre Jr to the roster that won the East in 2025. The Sixers are adding Brown to Tyrese Maxey, year-two VJ Edgecomb, and whatever they get from Joel Embiid, not to mention Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons. The Raptors brought back Kawhi. That\u2019s six right there. Throw in the Magic with a coaching upgrade, and the team the Knicks were down 2-1 to in the first round might suddenly be the 10th seed in the East, with Charlotte on the outside looking in. When you factor in the flattened lottery odds and the new disincentive to tank too hard, the margins will matter more than ever when it comes to getting regular season wins. The Knicks have confidence and continuity on their side, but will also have to battle complacency. We\u2019ll see how well they balance those competing interests over the 82-game marathon.<\/p>\n Question No. 2: Will kicking the can down the road make their life easier or harder? The good news: the Knicks gave themselves until February to find a better answer at the backup five. The bad news: everyone can see the ticking clock above their head. Ultimately, that may not matter nearly as much as the market, which will sort itself out between now and the trade deadline. They also aren\u2019t necessarily limited to answering this question via trade, and its possible a buyout guy unexpectedly shakes free. But whereas Jose Alvarado was seen as something of a luxury item for this stretch run, the perception may be quite a bit different this time around. Whether that makes their life materially harder remains to be seen.<\/p>\n All in all, if you told me two weeks ago that the Knicks would wind up staying under the second apron while bringing back Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Mohamed Diawara (with a strong possibility of retaining Jordan Clarkson) and signing Andre Drummond to replace Mitch, I\u2019d have signed on the dotted line. I\u2019m betting others would have joined me.<\/p>\n So now we wait\u2026to see what else they do to round out the roster, to see how the rest of the East shakes out, and eventually, to see what rotation they entrust with the title defense.<\/p>\n (Writing those words will never get old.)<\/p>\n And now, a bonus Monday column from the one and only Ray Marcano!<\/p>\n by Ray Marcano<\/a><\/p>\n As a fan, I\u2019m furious that Knicks owner James Dolan said the team wouldn\u2019t go into the second apron<\/a> to keep the team together.<\/p>\n Dolan couldn\u2019t even let fans enjoy the good vibes from the first championship in 53 years. Instead, four days after the Knicks beat San Antonio for the crown, and one day before the Knicks\u2019 first-ever championship parade (the team didn\u2019t have one in 1970 or 1973), he crushed the hopes of fans with the delicacy of a vice grip squashing a grape.<\/p>\n Dolan, the billionaire who oversees an empire, apparently can\u2019t afford a media team to coach him on the right thing to say, which was as simple as this: \u201cWe\u2019ll worry about the business stuff later. We just won and have a parade tomorrow so let us enjoy that first.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, we had our hopes crushed and watched our guy, Mitchell Robinson, sign with the hated Celtics.<\/p>\n If Dolan has the temerity to show up at this Fall\u2019s ring ceremony at the Garden, he will be booed more viciously than the adult who grabs a foul ball from a child.<\/p>\n The fan is me is pissed, especially given how the Knicks have exploded in valuation. According to the Basketball Network<\/a>, Dolan has a personal net worth of $2 billion<\/a>, and although that makes him one the poorest owners in the NBA, the team could surpass an $8 billion valuation, and the Knicks generated an extra $145 million during their playoff run.<\/p>\n The Madison Square Garden Sports Corp, Dolan\u2019s company, can afford the extra tax for a chance to win it all again, the fan in me says.<\/p>\n But the MBA\/economics minor in me think Dolan\u2019s right.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think he\u2019s right about the second apron because the penalties are only severe for repeat offenders.<\/p>\n But I think he knows the team can\u2019t repeat some of the awful decisions that hampered front offices past and held back the franchise.<\/p>\n Shandon Anderson<\/a> (6 years, $42 million), Jerome James <\/a>(5 years, $30 million) and (gasp!) Joakim Noah<\/a> (4 years, $72 million) are just some of the names signed to obscene contracts under the theory they could help the team win. Instead, all they did was clog the cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Jonathan noted last week, giving the injury-plagued Mitch Robinson a three-year deal might not be the smartest move. We love Mitch, but at what cost?<\/p>\n Cost is paramount in any business, as it is at MSG. I was going to dig into its tax records, but KFS alum Vivek Dadhania saved me the effort. His entire \u2018X\u2019 thread<\/a> is worth a read because it dives deep into the cost of resigning Mitch. Here\u2019s one number: sign Mitch and the luxury tax would have jumped to $98M. That\u2019s a number that would make any shareholder squirm.<\/p>\n This departure seems extra painful because we let go of Mitchell Robinson. Fans weren\u2019t quite as upset when Isaiah Hartenstein, who does some things on the court better than Mitch, left for more money in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n