The New York Knicks have become a winning franchise again since the arrival of Jalen Brunson and, more recently, Karl-Anthony Towns … but are the Knicks real contenders?
The upcoming playoffs will help to answer that question.
The regular season has provided a grim forecast for New York’s chances to come out of the East and compete for an NBA title. The Knicks are a combined 0-5 this season against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, the two squads ahead of New York in the Eastern Conference standings.
If the Knicks fall short of expectations this postseason, should they make some big changes to the roster?
It would seem foolish to assume that bringing back the same personnel next season would produce different results, especially given the fact that Boston and Cleveland are young and not going anywhere.
And if the Knicks did decide to mix things up, who would they trade? Brunson and Towns are presumably off-limits, which leaves OG Anunoby and his remaining $164 million as an obvious trade chip.
For Knicks fans thinking that trading Mikal Bridges would be smarter, that’s not a bad idea, either. But trading Bridges wouldn’t clear nearly as much cap space for the Knicks, as he’s making under $25 million next season compared with Anunoby’s $39.6 million.
Trading Josh Hart doesn’t seem like a wise move. He provides excellent two-way value for his contract, which has him south of $20 million next season before making $20.9 million and $22.4 million the following two seasons, respectively.
Anunoby is a winning player that any team would love to have, the Knicks included, but he’s slightly overpaid, and the Knicks as currently constructed don’t look like a true contender.
Getting off of Anunoby’s contract this summer in exchange for an expiring contract or two plus draft capital would give the Knicks some breathing room heading into the summer of 2026 as they look to re-tool around Brunson and Towns.
If New York is looking to mix things up even more, they could also move Bridges or let him walk in free agency next offseason.
New York needs a third star who can not only defend but create his own shot. While Brunson and KAT are All-Stars, Brunson’s size makes him a difficult primary scorer to build a contender around because he can wear down and get hurt if too much usage is heaped upon his shoulders.
Acquiring an elite wing is what the Knicks need to be in the business for, as it would make Brunson’s life easier and give New York a tad more star power to compete with Boston and Cleveland for the rest of the 2020s.
More NBA: Knicks facing frontcourt crisis as promising center suffers torn meniscus
