Current NBA fans insist that you need a superstar caliber player to take a team to a championship.
While that usually has been the case historically speaking, I think that it doesn’t need to be true.
Randle plays at an all-star level. Brunson plays at an all-star level. RJ is on pace to play at or near an all-star level. IQ if given starter minutes would almost assuredly play at or near an all-star level.
This is not to say that they will all make an all-star game, it’s simply to say that they are at or near that level.
If the team has that type of talent and play together the proper way, I don’t see why they would need a superstar talent.
You CAN win by overwhelming opposing teams through excellent team play. It’s difficult for an opposing team to really guard everyone properly, it’s much simpler to double the superstar and force the rest of the team to beat them. We would be simply doing that every night.
I think this team was put together extremely well. It’s an excellent combination of offense and defense. Every team looks for 2-way players and we have it in spades. That is not to say every bit is perfect, a bit more offense from MRob and a bit more defense from Jules would help a lot.
Cap space generally kills teams that have a max contract superstar. The team generally can afford the superstar, an all-star, and then only a bunch of meh role players, if they are lucky they get some decent vets on a minimum (ring-chasers). Not only does the cap kill them, they generally have traded away their picks for years just to have attained the superstar.
I hope that I get to be proven right. I think this team will surprise a lot of people in the NBA…
how does this team compare to the 2015 warriors?
What if I told you it is going to happen, whether you want it or not?
In my mind, there are 3 tiers of star players.
•Tier 1: MVP-caliber Superstar players (only 15 players).
•Tier 2: All-NBA players that are among the top in the league, but not quite superstar level.
•Tier 3: All-Stars in All-NBA contention in a given year.
To be solid contenders, teams need one of the following:
•Two Tier 1 superstars and decent role players.
•One Tier 1 superstar, at least one Tier 2 star player, and above-average role players.
If you don’t have a superstar, the only way you could possibly be a contender is with:
•At least three Tier 2-3 star players and high-end role players.
Bottom line is this: The Knicks currently have TWO Tier 3 star players. Knicks will eventually need at least ONE Tier 2 star player to pair with them for contention. Who that is? Not exactly sure, but one realistic name rings out: Donovan Mitchell.
A potential pairing of Mitchell/Brunson/Randle, with the right set of high-end role players is a contender imo. Not saying this has to be the solution, but it’s just an idea.