A massive new poll of NBA general managers revealed some surprising opinions when it comes to the New York Knicks‘ two blockbuster offseason trades.
The Knicks are in the early stages of what they hope will be a march to the 2025 NBA Finals. The franchise owned the second-best record in the East last season and should have made the conference finals if not for an onslaught of injuries in the playoffs.
Yet, despite already having a pretty good team, the front office made a pair of huge trades before the start of training camp. They added Nets two-way stud Mikal Bridges to the backcourt. And they filled a major void at center by acquiring four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns last week. On paper, they have a championship starting five.
Yet, when it comes to GMs around the NBA, those were not the most impactful moves of the offseason. A new NBA.com survey asked GMs “Which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact?” And despite the rave reviews for both Knicks trades, a whopping 60% chose Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bridges and Towns deals were tied for second with just 13% of the vote.
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New York Knicks Karl-Anthony Towns traded voted ‘most surprising’ by NBA GMs
In a separate question, the league’s general managers were asked: “What was the most surprising move of the offseason?” While the 76ers signing George got 23% of the vote, it was not the top choice. Instead, the various execs gave 27% of the vote to the Knicks trade for Towns just days before the start of 2024 training camp.
Bridges being traded to New York earned 10% of the vote while the Kings making a big splash by acquiring DeMar DeRozan earned 17% of votes. You can find the full results for both questions below.
Which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact?
- Paul George, Philadelphia – 60%
- Mikal Bridges, New York – 13%
- Karl-Anthony Towns, New York – 13%
- Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City – 7%
What was the most surprising move of the offseason?
- Karl-Anthony Towns to New York – 27%
- Paul George to Philadelphia – 23%
- DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento – 17%
- Mikal Bridges to New York – 10%
- Zaccharie Risacher drafted No. 1 – 7%
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