Crazy Eighth
The Knicks get their best - and wildest - win of the season.
Good morning! Before we get to a recap of the craziest game of the year, the Knicks made a trade…
Bye Bye, Yabu
Late last night, Leon Rose sent Guerschon Yabusele to Chicago in exchange for fourth-year wing Dalen Terry. No picks were involved.
Just looking at the trade on its face, it probably seems a little odd. We’ve been hearing for weeks about how the Knicks were trying to flip Yabu and picks in exchange for a player who might help their rotation. Terry, while he was once an intriguing prospect taken with the 18th pick in 2022, is very likely not that.
What he is, however, is an expiring contract, as opposed to Yabusele and his $5.8 million player option for next season. Because Yabusele has underperformed so drastically and because teams know the Knicks are projected to be big spenders yet again next season, the thinking was that it would take multiple second rounders just to get off Yabusele’s contract, and that’s before we even get to the additional picks it would take to sweeten the pot and get a good player back in the deal.
In making this Terry trade, the Knicks are essentially splitting what many figured would be a one-part deal into two parts. The only question is whether we’re going to get a part-two. Why the split? The fact that the Bulls took on Yabusele’s deal without getting a single pick in return is nothing short of astounding (and, frankly, foolish on Chicago’s part). Clearly this wasn’t an opportunity the front office felt it could pass up.
Now, they’re left with Terry (whose salary can’t be aggregated in any trade, although it’s worth noting that the aggregation rules aren’t quite as restrictive as many perceive them to be1) and several young players and minimums who can be sent out in another transaction. Most importantly, the Knicks still have all the draft assets they had yesterday at their disposal today.
Can they make use of those assets to bring in a player who can actually help their team?
We’ll find out by 3pm today.
Knicks 134, Nuggets 127 (2OT)
33-18 (W8); 21-6 at home
Over the course of the Leon Rose era, the Knicks have been no strangers to winning streaks of at least eight (but never longer than nine) games in a row.
Now up to six such streaks in total (four with nine straight, one with eight straight, and the current streak that’s eight and counting), these stretches have included some of the most memorable games of the last six seasons.
The overtime win over Memphis that started the very first nine-game winning streak way back in April of 2021.
The turnover-filled eyesore against Cleveland that kicked off eight straight in December of 2022 (and saved Tom Thibodeau’s job in the process).
Josh Hart’s first game as a Knick, beating Utah in February of 2023 and kicking off a streak of nine straight that ended with Randle’s game-winner in Miami and IQ’s double-OT masterpiece in Boston.
The “I’m not crying, you’re crying” Brunson “born to play basketball” win against Indy, which was the final game of that nine-game winning streak.
And then Mikal’s Christmas miracle against the Spurs in 2024, which was smack dab in the middle of those nine consecutive wins.
Even this streak has featured a memorable win in Philly, a wild in-game turnaround in Toronto, and a toppling of the King in perhaps his last trip to MSG.
That’s 10 games Knick fans aren’t likely to forget anytime soon, a few of which have an argument for the best regular season victory of the Rose era.
And last night was right up there with any of them.
