Why The New York Knicks Do The Deal

Charting a course for the New York Knicks is difficult. After all, we don’t know if they’ll be acquiring Donovan Mitchell this summer or not.

With that said, this deal should benefit them either way.

If they do, this pure talent upgrade makes sense. A supporting cast of Randle, Collins, and Jalen Brunson should have the Knicks competitive in 2022-23. With that said, if they don’t trade for Mitchell, they can still justify this deal.

After all, it’s a pure talent upgrade. Some will point to the positional overlap between Randle and Collins. We’re not concerned. Collins is one of the league’s best small-ball 5s. He may come off the bench in a sixth-man capacity. The Knicks will still be able to find 30 minutes a game for him in that context.

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Of course, with the way Randle performed in 2021-22, Collins may be his replacement. In either event, if the Hawks are looking to dump his salary, the Knicks ought to be giving them a call.