Breaking down New York's biggest problem, best- and worst-case settings, and dream view.
The Big Question: Does it all be worth it?
The Knicks ' front office spent a lot of money to keep their momentum after a ton of injury and a slew of Indiana jumpers combined to keep them from reaching the Eastern Conference championship game. A half-decade's fair of first-round pulls for Bridges. Five times and$ 212.5 million for OG Anunoby. Another$ 156.5 million for Jalen Brunson.
( OK, so that last one was actually the mother of all sweetheart deals. )
After Randle and Mitchell Robinson's surgeries, the Knicks appeared to have a chance to surpass previous year's parameters when they entered the season with one of the NBA's best and deepest movements.
" Obviously, you would've liked to have seen that one more time and just get a feel for that, fully healthy", swingman Josh Hart said Monday at media time.
Leon Rose, the team's leader, had different ideas.
" You know, you're not content", brain coach Tom Thibodeau said. " You always want to try to improve. And you want to try to take advantage of options that may arise when you see the team improving.
Rose took benefits, punctuating New York's season with a thunder. Out goes Randle, who averaged almost 23 items, 10 touchdowns and five assists per activity across five times as a Knick, earning All-Star and All-NBA smiles as the thug who helped bring the bright lights up to Broadway. Nova Knick DiVincenzo is the star of the NBA, who made at least 250 3-pointers last year and snagged a steal on at least 2 % of their offensive property. ( The other four: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Paul George and the god George McCloud. )
And in comes Towns— a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who's about to become the fourth 7-footer ever to make 1, 000 career triples, who's fresh off a run in which he ( partially ) redeemed his postseason reputation by successfully guarding Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokić in series victories ( before struggling in the Western Conference finals ), and who, as an ostensible replacement for Randle and Hartenstein, promises to dramatically change the shape of the franchise.
Jalen Brunson, all 6-foot-2 of him, finished 12th in the NBA in positions in the plaster last year, despite playing about entirely with elbows-and-in locations. Going from domestic cats to outside Kit — a quick-trigger rifle effective at removing opposing centers from the color — may increase Brunson's pathways to paydirt. Surrounding that pairing with Anunoby and Bridges — central-casting All-Defensive wings who have shot 41 % and 39 %, respectively, on catch-and-shoot 3s over the past four seasons — puts lethal complementary targets all over the court.
The Knicks have the potential for a starting five that is among the league's best under Sprinkle in Hart, who, as he noted at media time, has" shown in the group I may do a little bit of anything." Put in fourth-year guard Miles McBride, an ace point-of-attack defender who merely shot 41 % from strong, and a good Robinson and Precious Achiuwa up front, and that's an eight-man rotation equipped to go toe-to-toe with the best of the best — especially if the season moves can also further unleash Brunson.
" The most important thing, when it goes into summer, is just: Where's my mindset at? Where am I"? Brunson said Monday. " And I know where I'm at. And I like where I'm at".
The key: getting to those marquee matchups in one piece. Towns and Anunoby have missed a combined 213 regular-season games over the past four years. Robinson has missed 81 games in the last two, and wo n't be ready for at least a couple of months.
Sure, Brunson, Hart and Bridges are tanks. But these Knicks feel perilously close to" This Sure Is A Lot of Jericho Sims and Cam Payne" territory for a would-be title contender — especially in a conference featuring, among others, the defending-champion Celtics, the Paul George-bolstered 76ers, Giannis and Dame's Bucks, and the Pacers squad that just ended the Knicks ' season.
" The East is definitely going to be tougher", Hart said Monday. " A lot of teams made big moves this offseason, moves to shore up their rotation. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be a cakewalk. We know that. … But we're extremely confident in what we have. Officially and unofficially".
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Best-case scenario
Thibs stitches his new team together, with Brunson, the tip of his needle, earning All-NBA First Team honors. Towns fits seamlessly into his new surroundings, keying New York's transformation into a marauding five-out attack that finishes at the top of the league in points scored per possession. Bridges ' shooting efficiency plays up in a more curtailed role, and a reduced workload allows him to return to All-Defensive-caliber work, Anunoby joins him there. Towns and Anunoby stay mostly healthy, and Robinson eventually joins them to give New York the back-line ballast to blow past 50 wins, make the conference finals, and test its version of Boston's build against the blueprint.
If everything falls apart
The best-laid plans do n't knit neatly, chemistry proves elusive. Towns ' return to full-time rim-protection duty, combined with growing pains in a shifting scheme that incorporates more switching on the perimeter, leads to a serious drop-off on the defensive end, exacerbated by Robinson's early-season absence. The soft underbelly of the reshuffled roster of the Knicks is revealed by the significant absences and injuries that Towns and Anunoby have sustained. Despite the Knicks ' best efforts to win the playoffs, Thibs and Brunson are still able to do so.
Fantasy spin
Brunson and Towns got a boost in my latest rankings after the blockbuster trade. Brunson moved up a few spots in the second round, and Towns moved from a third-round value to a second-round value.
Under Thibs, KAT enjoyed some of his statistically best seasons, and fantasy managers need to be aware of the potential for growth. With Robinson sidelined, Towns might be looking at 12 rebounds per game and higher potential for shot-blocking as a result because KAT will be more active in the paint than he was in Minnesota. Adding more counting stats to his uber-efficient offensive skill set will be great for his fantasy outlook.
If Anunoby can stay healthy, his stocks and 3s will propel him to outperform his ADP at 96 overall. I'm slightly concerned about Bridges, though. In theory, he should be more efficient than last year because he's in a supporting role versus being the star. But I ca n't help but notice his jumper looks oddly different this offseason. Hopefully, he will regain that efficiency with increased stocks, as he did in Phoenix, but that new release looks a bit sus, just saying. — Dan Titus
2024-25 schedule
Season opener: Oct. 22 at Boston
Complete schedule
Over/under win total: 54.5
A team that essentially needs to create a new identity on the fly and is heavily reliant on the health of several of the top ten players with shaky injury histories seems ridiculous. The Knicks may well be better equipped to make the conference finals come springtime, but I do n't see them rolling up 55 wins before they get there. I'll go under.
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