Chris Childs
Robert Laberge/Allsport

The New York Knicks went all-in on 2019 free agency, but the Brooklyn Nets swooped in and landed two potential targets.

New York City can lure basketball stars, but it was the Brooklyn Nets, not the New York Knicks who were attracting the game’s biggest names. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant opted to sign with the Nets over their crosstown rivals and former Knick Chris Childs believes that’s a big deal.

“It should be a wake-up call for the Knicks,” Childs told Marc Berman of the New York Post in a phone interview. “It should be a wake-up when you didn’t get the free agents you expect to get, especially when [Kristaps] Porzingis left and you think you’re getting a guy or two to come in to fill that and it doesn’t happen.”

The former Knicks point guard laments the lack of a true star in Madison Square Garden. Additionally, he believes that the rise of the Nets is a bad look for his old team.

“It’s not good for the league office to be in New York and the team is not good and free agents are going to Brooklyn instead of the Knicks as their first choice,” Childs said. “I think over the years it doesn’t seem they have a definition of how they’re going to play on a nightly basis. A lot of inconsistencies.”

As Childs notes, the Knicks have had their struggles over the last few seasons. The only way to change that perception is by developing some consistency.

The 2019-20 team is a unique mix of up-and-coming youth and proven veterans. Taking a positive step forward will be huge for the Knicks in convincing free agents in the future.

 
NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.