The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
NEW YORK KNICKS
2023-24 end
Offseason moves
Additions: Karl-Anthony Towns (unofficially!), Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, Pacôme Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr., Ariel Hukporti, Landry Shamet, the draft rights to James Nnaji
Subtractions: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington (again: unofficial!), Isaiah Hartenstein, Bojan Bogdanović, Alec Burks, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite
Complete roster
The Big Question: Will it all be worth it?
After a ton of injuries and a hail of Indiana jumpers combined to stop them short of the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks’ front office spent big to maintain their momentum. A half-decade’s worth of first-round picks for Bridges. Five years and $212.5 million for OG Anunoby. Another $156.5 million for Jalen Brunson.
(Okay, so that last one was actually the mother of all affections.)
Everything had the Knicks looking ready to enter the season with one of the best and deepest rotations of the NBA – a team that, after Randle and center Mitchell Robinson returned from operations, had a chance to exceed the limits of last year.
“Obviously, you would have liked to see that one more time and just feel that, fully healthy,” shortstop Josh Hart said Monday at media day.
Team president Leon Rose had other plans.
“You know, you’re never satisfied,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You always want to try to improve. And when opportunities present themselves, and you feel it can improve the team, you want to try to take advantage of that.”
Rose took advantage, punctuating New York’s offseason with a thunderstorm. Out goes Randle, who averaged nearly 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game. across five seasons as a Knickearning All-Star and All-NBA nods as the bully who helped bring the bright lights back to Broadway. Out comes ‘New Knick DiVincenzo, who last season became the fifth player in NBA history make more than 250 3-pointers and grab a steal on at least 2% of opponents’ offensive possessions. (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 is about to become the fourth 7-footer ever make 1,000 career triples; who is fresh off a run in which he (partially) redeemed his postseason reputation by successfully guarding Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokić in series wins (before struggling in the Western Conference finals); and who, as an apparent replacement for Randle and Hartenstein, promises to dramatically change the shape of the franchise.
Jalen Brunson, all 6-foot-2 of him, is over 12th in the NBA in points in the paint last season, despite playing almost exclusively with elbows-and-in-centers. Going from indoor cats to an outdoor KAT — a quick-release sniper capable of clearing opposing centers from the paint — should widen Brunson’s paths to paydirt. Rounding out that pairing with Anunoby and Bridges – center shooting All-Defensive wings who shot 41% and 39%respectively, on catch-and-shoot 3s over the past four seasons — are putting up lethal complementary targets all over the court.
Sprinkle in Hart — who, as he noted at media day, “has shown in the league that I can do a little bit of everything” — and the Knicks have the makings of a starting five that could rank among the league’s best. Add in fourth-year guard Miles McBride, an ace point guard who just shot 41% from deep, and a healthy 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 offseason moves can free up Brunson even more.
“The most important thing going into summer is just: Where is my mindset? Where am I?” Brunson said Monday. “And I know where I am. And me like where I am.”
The key: getting to those marquee matches 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 won’t be ready for at least a few months.
Sure, Brunson, Hart and Bridges are tanks. But these Knicks feel dangerously close to “This Sure Is A Lot of Jericho Sims and Cam Payne” territory for a future title contender — especially in a conference with, among others, the defending champion Celtics, the Paul George-powered 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 have made big moves this offseason, moves to strengthen their rotation. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be a cake walk. We know that. … But we’re extremely confident in what we have. Officially and unofficially.”
Best case scenario
Thibs is putting together his new team, with Brunson, the tip of his needle, earning All-NBA First Team honors. Towns fits perfectly into his new environment, 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 limited role, and a reduced workload allows him to return to All-Defensive-caliber work; Anunoby joins him there. Towns and Anunoby remain mostly healthy, and Robinson eventually joins them to give New York the back-end ballast to blow past 50 wins, make the conference finals, and test. its version of Boston’s construction against the draft.
If everything falls apart
The best laid plans do not knit neatly; chemistry proves fleeting. Towns’ return to full-time rim-protecting duty, combined with growing pains in a changing scheme that incorporates more switching on the perimeter, leads to a significant drop-off on the defensive end, exacerbated by Robinson’s early-season absence. The injury problems are rearing their ugly heads, and significant absences for Towns and Anunoby have laid bare the soft underbelly of the Knicks’ revamped roster. Thibs and Brunson can still grind out a playoff spot, but the Knicks’ hard sprinting again runs out of gas against a team of long-distance runners.
A fancy spin
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony 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 third-round value to second-round value.
KAT has enjoyed some of his best seasons statistically under Thibs and fantasy managers need to recognize the growth opportunities ahead. Towns could be looking at 12 rebounds per game and more shot-blocking potential with Mitchell Robinson sidelined, as KAT will be in the paint more than in his previous role in Minnesota. Adding more scoring stats to his super effective offensive prowess will be great for his fantasy prospect.
If OG Anunoby can stay healthy, his stock and 3s will propel him past his ADP at 96 overall. I’m a little worried about Mikal Bridges, though. In theory, he should be more effective than last year because he’s in a supporting role versus being the star. But I can’t help but notice his jumping looks strangely different this offseason. Hopefully, he’ll regain that efficiency with increased stock, like he did in Phoenix, but that’s it new edition looks a bit sus, just saying. – And Titus
schedule 2024-25
A five-win jump seems awfully steep for a team that essentially needs to build a new identity on the fly, and that is banking a ton on the health of several top seven players with a checkered injury history. The Knicks may be better equipped for the conference finals come the spring, but I don’t see them putting together 55 wins before they get there. I’ll go downstairs.
