The New York Knicks had a disappointing second season under Tom Thibodeau this year, and Charles Barkley thinks they need to make some dramatic changes this summer if they want to reverse that trend.
Barkley spoke about the Knicks this week while promoting next month’s American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament in which Sir Charles participates. He said the Knicks currently have a huge talent void that needs to be filled. Barkley described New York’s roster as “a bunch of J.A.G.s,” which stands for “Just Another Guy.”
“They’re not better than guys on Atlanta, Orlando,” Barkley said, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “There’s only probably three guys on that team that are NBA starters. So the No. 1 thing they got to do is get some talent. They got a lack of talent right now. And it’s really unfortunate because we need the Knicks to be competitive. And right now, they’re not competitive.”
The Knicks finished 11th in the Eastern Conference this season and missed the playoffs. They went 37-45 and took a big step back after their big turnaround last year, when they won 41 games and were the 4th seed in the East.
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is one player who has been frequently mentioned as a potential Knicks trade target. Barkley said the Knicks could trade half their roster for Mitchell and still improve because they “don’t have a lot in the cupboard right now.”
We have heard for years now about how the Knicks are targeting star players via trade. Nothing has come together for them, and they even got some bad news recently on the Mitchell front.
Barkley certainly is not the only one who is down on the Knicks. They desperately need to make a big splash or two heading into next season.
