Given that Leon Rose is routinely tight-lipped about the franchise’s inner workings and long-term plans, anyone who writes a predictive text about the New York Knicks’ offseason plans is completing an exercise in futility.
Still, it’s a fun endeavor, given how crucial this offseason is in identifying the organization’s long-term goals.
What approach do you want the Knicks to take in long-term roster building?
I wrote a piece similar to this one at the start of the last offseason. I got some elements right (most of the free agents that would leave and the Evan Fournier and Nerlens Noel contract lengths minus the options), and some things I got very wrong (everything about the draft and that ridiculous Dame Lillard trade).
In many ways, predicting last year’s offseason was an easy task. The Knicks were coming off their best performance in essentially a decade. The correct move was to improve the core that was already in place.
They followed that season up, though, with a disappointing campaign. So, now the correct direction is uncertain and varies widely from fan to fan. One has to believe some similar debates are happening amongst the Knicks’ brain trust.
Julius Randle has gone from the King of New York to an absolute pariah according to a large swath of the fanbase. Tom Thibodeau’s heralded defensive brilliance in year one carried the team, but year two highlighted his offensive simplicity. RJ Barrett showed flashes of superstar potential and strings of shooting inefficiency.
Is Immanuel Quickley a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA? How many more minutes should Obi Toppin get? What does the team do with Fournier, Derrick Rose, and Kemba Walker? Does Cam Reddish have a long-term future in New York? Do the Knicks retain Mitchell Robinson, and at what cost?
Every question leads to more questions. Every tug of thread unravels more of the sweater.
This summer will be telling. Are the Knicks a franchise that wants to continue investing in the youth, are they trying to win now, or is the front office kicking the can down the road to land a superstar?
New York Knicks’ </a>offseason plans is completing an exercise in futility.</p>
<p>Still, it’s a fun endeavor, given how crucial this offseason is in identifying the organization’s long-term goals.</p>
<h2>What approach do you want the Knicks to take in long-term roster building?</h2>
<p>I wrote <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/07/01/ny-knicks-dream-offseason/6/">a piece similar to this one at the start of the last offseason</a>. I got some elements right (most of the free agents that would leave and the Evan Fournier and Nerlens Noel contract lengths minus the options), and some things I got very wrong (everything about the draft and that ridiculous Dame Lillard trade).</p>
<p>In many ways, predicting last year’s offseason was an easy task. The Knicks were coming off their best performance in essentially a decade. The correct move was to improve the core that was already in place.</p>
<p>They followed that season up, though, with a disappointing campaign. So, now the correct direction is uncertain and varies widely from fan to fan. One has to believe some similar debates are happening amongst the Knicks’ brain trust.</p>
<p>Julius Randle has gone from the King of New York to an absolute pariah according to a large swath of the fanbase. Tom Thibodeau’s heralded defensive brilliance in year one carried the team, but year two highlighted his offensive simplicity. RJ Barrett showed flashes of superstar potential and strings of shooting inefficiency.</p>
<p>Is Immanuel Quickley a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA? How many more minutes should Obi Toppin get? What does the team do with Fournier, Derrick Rose, and Kemba Walker? Does Cam Reddish have a long-term future in New York? Do the Knicks retain Mitchell Robinson, and at what cost?</p>
<p>Every question leads to more questions. Every tug of thread unravels more of the sweater.</p>
<p>This summer will be telling. Are the Knicks a franchise that wants to continue investing in the youth, are they trying to win now, or is the front office kicking the can down the road to land a superstar?</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The NBA Draft </a>
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<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-129033" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F06%2F1386801488.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Purdue Boilermakers, Jaden Ivey" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/06/1386801488.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/06/1386801488-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Jaden Ivey, Purdue Boilermakers. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>Draft Night Wheelin’ and Dealin’</h3>
<p>One of the biggest questions of the offseason for the Knicks centers around the team’s future with Randle. It was the very first question I alluded to on slide one. This decision will dictate seemingly everything else that happens.</p>
<p>On the one hand, there is an apparent unmendable fracture between Randle and the fanbase’s large, vocal portion. It also appears that the basketball pairing of Randle and Barrett is untenable without some other significant overhauls to the roster and play style. But, on the other hand, it’s bad business to treat a player you extended last summer like a distressed asset.</p>
<p>Couple the idea of maximizing Randle’s trade value with the reports that <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/01/espn-nba-draft-analyst-jonathan-givony-bold-prediction-knicks/">the team is highly interested in moving up to acquire Jaden Ivey</a>, and you have the makings of the first major move of the offseason.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[27,34,84]" data-team-gets='[["Alex Len","2022 #4 Overall Pick"],["Julius Randle","2022 #11 Overall Pick"],["Josh Hart","2022 #7 Overall Pick"]]'> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fknicks.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Knicks Get</div> <div class="info">Alex Len</div> <div class="info">2022 #4 Overall Pick</div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> <div class="team b"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Ftrailblazers.png">
<div class="details"> <div class="team-name">Trail Blazers Get</div> <div class="info">Julius Randle</div> <div class="info">2022 #11 Overall Pick</div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> <div class="team c"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fkings.png">
!["New](https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2022%2F06%2F18111474.jpeg")
New York has some interest in signing Jalen Brunson this offseason</a>. They put this plan on full display to the rest of the league by sending a contingent to watch Brunson’s first playoff game this postseason.</p>
<p>The Knicks also just hired Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson. Yes, the elder Brunson worked for Thibodeau at both of his previous NBA head coaching jobs and has a long-standing relationship with Leon Rose, but that doesn’t make the timing of this hire any less interesting.</p>
<p>Before New York can begin courting Brunson in earnest, the team will have some critical decisions to make by June 29th. I’m predicting that they will renounce the cap holds for Ryan Arcidiacono and the Kevin Knox trade exception, but they will hold onto Robinson’s. I also predict the Knicks will waive Taj Gibson and his $5.155 million in non-guaranteed salary.</p>
<p>Those moves put the franchise at approximately $18.636 million in cap space. That number seems short of what Brunson is looking for in free agency. However, the Knicks could quickly get a number that Brunson would love by trading either Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, or Walker into another team’s cap space.</p>
<p>They could also go the sign-and-trade route, which could look something like this:</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="Trade" data-team-ids="[27,79]" data-team-gets="[["Jalen Brunson via Sign-and-Trade (4yrs\/$100 million)"],["Derrick Rose","Mavs '23 1st Round Pick"]]"
> <div class="playertrade remove-native-227"> <div class="trade"> <div class="team a"> <div class="logo"><img src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/06/13/proposing-new-york-knicks-2022-dream-offseason/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_75,h_75,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.fansided.com%2Flogos%2Fnba%2Fknicks.png"/>
