Report: Knicks have good chance to land star player in the next year

The New York Knicks have come up empty when pursuing star free agents over the past several years, but is the stench surrounding the franchise finally beginning to fade?

After missing the playoffs the last seven seasons, the Knicks are 18-17 and currently hold the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast this week that he expects a star player to demand a trade to the Knicks in the next year.

“I say within the next 12 months a star/superstar player demands a trade to New York,” Windhorst said, as transcribed by Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “And I don’t know who it’s going to be. I have some guesses; I’m not going to say right here. I’ll let you guys start thinking about that. Let’s just put it this way: League executives certainly have some guesses.”

Windhorst would not drop any names, and he mentioned how some players might be hesitant to play for Tom Thibodeau. However, he seems confident a star player will want to play for the Knicks and mentioned Julius Randle as a potential trade piece.

“I’d say by next year’s trade deadline a player, a superstar, an All-Star player tries to force his way there,” Windhorst reiterated. “And they’re going to be in position to do that type of trade, and maybe that’s where Julius Randle comes in.”

The Knicks have not signed a star free agent in a decade despite supposedly being “in” on most of them. We know of at least one superstar player they may be targeting, but nothing can be assumed when it comes to James Dolan’s team.