The Knicks Emerge as Title Contenders
Five years ago, the New York Knicks were the laughing stock of the league. Fans of all teams ridiculed the Knicks for missing out on big name free agents during the 2019 offseason as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose the team on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. This offseason, the script has flipped.
The 2019 offseason was meant to be a turning point for the Knicks after five years of the draft lottery being the most anticipated night of the year. They had ample cap space and a number of big name free agents were available in addition to Durant and Irving. Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, and Jimmy Butler signed contracts with new teams. Additionally, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Anthony Davis were all traded to contenders.
The Knicks walked away from that offseason with forward Julius Randle, a signing that was scoffed at by many, especially by Knicks fans. Randle signed a three year deal worth $63 million. Additionally, he draft lottery earned the Knicks the third pick with which they selected Duke star guard RJ Barrett.
The 2019-20 season was rough for Randle and the Knicks. He failed to break the 20 point per game threshold despite being the Knicks’ number one scoring option. He shot under 28 percent from the 3-point line and fans were in misery. Expectations were low and results met expectations. It felt like the ground was freezing over and it was looking like another five years of bags over heads at Madison Square Garden.
Things changed in 2020. After not earning an invite to the bubble, the Knicks entered hibernation. Immediately prior to the shutdown of the NBA due to the pandemic, Leon Rose was hired as the President of the Knicks. Among Rose’s first moves was to hire Tom Thibodeau as head coach, a veteran of the position.
The Knicks turned heads as the 2020-21 began. Thibodeau, a defensive minded coach, implemented his philosophies and it translated to winning. The heads were not being turned in the arena however as Madison Square Garden was empty until February. The Knicks hovered around .500 until a nine game winning streak in April. While defense was certainly a factor in the Knicks success, they had to score as well. The offense was fueled by a breakout season from Julius Randle. With the noise tuned out and a fresh slate of expectations, Randle balled out putting up 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists per game. Even more impressive was his 41 percent clip from behind the arc. Randle thrived in the COVID environment and earned his first all-star nod and won the Most Improved Player award. He led the Knicks to the fourth seed in the east and their first playoff appearance since 2013 when Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title.
The Atlanta Hawks made quick work of the Knicks in five games behind the trickery and shooting of Trae Young. Randle played rather poorly as he shot under 30 percent from the field. While fans were disappointed and wary of Randles ability to lead the team through the fire going forward, the atmosphere of playoff basketball at Madison Square Garden reminded the league of why a competitive Knicks team is so great for the game. In the Knicks game two victory, Obi Toppin caught a lob from Alec Burks in the fourth quarter that sent the crowd into a frenzy. “It’s bedlam here at the Garden,” said Mike Breen on the local MSG broadcast.
After a surprise of a year, the Knicks regressed, winning only 37 games and missed the playoffs. It was clear Julius Randle was not good enough to be the best player on a contending Knicks team. They needed somebody else to carry the offensive load.
Jalen Brunson signed with the Knicks in the 2022 offseason on a four year deal worth $104 million. Brunson had been swimmingly backing up Luka Doncic in Dallas for the previous four seasons and the Knicks took a chance on him to be their primary ball handler. Brunson flourished in the role from the jump, putting up 24 points and six assists on 49 percent from the field, an impressive feat as someone who takes as many jumpers as Brunson does. Randle benefited greatly from the arrival of Brunson as he bested his 2021 season by scoring 25 points a game. He also had a 58 percent true shooting percentage, his best as a Knick. The team was the 5th seed in the east and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, breaking their 10 year drought in playoff series wins. They lost to the Miami Heat in the second round in a disappointing six games. Randle certainly did not assist in the effort. He scored just 16 points a game in the playoffs and shot just 37.4 percent from the field. When it seemed Randle had escaped his demons, they came right back to bite him.
Randle was spectacular to start the 2023-24 season, putting up similar numbers to the year before and helping the Knicks win games. He earned his second all star nod and was gearing up to overcome his playoff woes. On January 27 however, he dislocated his shoulder in the final minutes of a game against the Miami Heat. It was eventually revealed that he would need season ending surgery on that shoulder. Without him, the Knicks climbed to the second seed in the east and were a win away from the conference finals but came up short to the Indiana Pacers in game seven. The Knicks were without three of their starters in that game as OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson were both sidelined with injury in addition to Julius.
We arrived at this past offseason with the Knicks looking more promising than ever. The thought of what the team could have done if healthy made for lots of intrigue. They were the first to make a move as they acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a mountain of first round picks. The next pin dropped as the Knicks re-signed OG Anunoby to a five year max deal. This was huge as the Knicks had sent away their original building blocks in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire him back in December. Fans were left saddened by the move initially, but not after the Knicks were incapable of losing with Anunoby in the lineup.
With this, the Knicks were ready to run out a lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson with Donte Divincenzo and Josh Hart coming off the bench. However, news came out that Mitchell Robinson was going to miss significant time with his ankle injury leaving the Knicks severely shorthanded at the Center position. Leon Rose was not done yet.
On September 27, news broke that the Knicks were sending Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns had been a rumored desire for the Knicks for many years, but it seemed almost impossible that it would come to fruition due to the team’s shortcomings in acquiring talented players in the past. This is a new era of Knicks management basketball however. Leon Rose has turned the franchise around. Towns brings an element of scoring and floor spacing at the center position that has not been present in New York during their run of success. The loss of Donte Divincenzo is disappointing from a depth perspective and a Villanova perspective. With the acquisition of Bridges, the Knicks briefly had four members of the 2016 National Champion Villanova team, which was unprecedented and a feel good story. The loss of Julius Randle hits a little harder though.
Randle came to the Knicks when no other free agents wanted to. He embraced the challenge of playing in front of such passionate and critical fans. He fought his way back from the struggle of his first year to lead the Knicks to the playoffs when nobody believed it was plausible. He fought back from the struggle of year three to coexist with Jalen Brunson and return to the player he was in 2021. All of this culminated in watching his team lose while on the precipice of the conference finals knowing he could have had something to say about the result had he been in uniform which preceded him being shipped off before being able to see through what he started in New York. The franchise would not be where they are if not for Randle’s decision to join the team. The trade was necessary and the correct move on paper for the Knicks, but it hurts to think about the human aspect of the game in moments like these.