In a way, the New York Knicks are merely continuing on the course they charted when they missed out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2019. They've kept their cap sheet clean, steering clear of the quick-fix, long-term contracts that have set the franchise back in offseasons past. They didn't do anything exciting in free agency, but didn't do anything foolish, either.
It is more accurate, however, to say that the 2020 offseason and the imminent 2020-21 season represent a do-over. The lead executive is promising to build the team the right way. The head coach is preaching hard work and unselfishness. It's all extremely familiar, but new faces are everywhere. The question is whether the remixed version of the Knicks, with Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau in charge, with Obi Toppin and Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel and Austin Rivers and Immanuel Quickley on the roster, will fare any better.
Thibodeau's job is to guide New York to competence, or at least something close to it. The Knicks went 21-45 last season, with an abysmal offense and a bottom-10 defense. The worst part, however, was that they failed to create an environment where they could properly evaluate their own talent. RJ Barrett, the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft, didn't have room to operate because so few of his teammates could space the floor. Mitchell Robinson, the pogo-stick center they stole in the second round in 2018, came off the bench and averaged 23 minutes because because he didn't fit next to Julius Randle, their big free-agent acquisition. Shooting is still a weakness, but New York probably has a healthier mix of players now. That is an admittedly low bar.
Already, there has been progress on the front-office side. The Knicks netted two second-round picks to take on Ed Davis' contract, then flipped Davis to the Wolves in a deal that returned another second-round pick. This is exactly how they didn't use their cap space a in 2019. In a perfect world, the offensively gifted Toppin will be in the running for Rookie of the Year, the many returning young players will increase their value and there will be more smart moves between now and the trade deadline. For any of this to happen, though, New York will need to get its act together on the court.
Taking the temperature
Knicks believer: I was impressed that the Knicks hired Thibodeau, the perfect coach to get them organized and hold the young players accountable. But draft day is when I realized things were different.
Remember those reports that they wanted to trade up to take Toppin? He fell in their laps at No. 8, and they also turned the 27th and 38th picks into the 25th and 33rd picks. If the Thunder had done something like that, you'd never hear the end of it. Between that and the three second-rounders they got to temporarily have Davis on their roster, Rose's front office looks extremely shrewd. I have no idea how many games this team will win this year, but I'm confident that the organization is going in the right direction.
Knicks skeptic: By Knicks standards it was shrewd offseason, I guess. For a normal team, a few small, sensible transactions do not add up to some kind of triumph. I'd be much more inclined to praise Rose had his front office traded Randle, invested heavily in shooting and signed any free agent at all to a multi-year contract.
I look at this roster and I see a bunch of young players without a clear hierarchy, plus a bunch of veteran mercenaries who are essentially auditioning for other teams, just like last year. This is not a recipe for a happy locker room, particularly if the Knicks get off to a rough start. I feel bad for Toppin, who is already being talked about as a potential ROY but will surely struggle on defense and should never share the court with Randle. I feel bad for Barrett, who will once again have to deal with defenses packing the paint.
All the jokes about the Knicks signing a million bigs and playing ugly basketball obscured the real consequences players face when front offices set them up to fail. People laughed when Barrett complained about being left off the All-Rookie team. Nobody flinched when Payton re-signed at a salary significantly lower than his production should command. Taj Gibson and Allonzo Trier have fallen out of the league. I really hope the offense is functional this time around.
Knicks believer: That's a dramatic way to put it, but I get your point. I just don't understand why you're worried about the offense looking like it did last year. Reggie Bullock is healthy now, and Burks makes a good percentage of his spot-up 3s. Rivers isn't a deadeye shooter, but he fires without hesitation and defenses aren't just going to leave him alone out there. Quickley is a sniper. Toppin can stretch the floor. Kevin Knox II's jumper has improved. Need I go on?
Knicks skeptic: That's a long list of guys who aren't going to start at the point. The Knicks desperately needed to find a point guard who doesn't need the ball in his hands, and the closest thing they have to that is still Frank Ntilikina, who is heading into his fourth season and has yet to prove he's a viable NBA player. They are regularly going to have three non-shooters cramping things up, while the rest of the league is loathe using lineups with even two. In their first two preseason games, they started Burks and four non-shooters: Payton, Barrett, Randle and Noel. What year is this?
Knicks believer: I'm sorry if I don't care that much about who started the first couple of preseason games. You're making way too much of this shooting thing.
The Knicks have more shooters than they had last year. They also have more guys who can get in the paint and kick it out to those shooters. They have more shot-blocking, more versatility and a coach who will obsess over every little detail. They're going to generate better shots than they have for the past few years, and they're going to be more competitive than people expect.
Knicks skeptic: Not buying it. The season hasn't even started but it already kind of feels like a waste. How many of the free agents they signed are on the team strictly because the front office thinks they can be flipped at the trade deadline? Stars want to play in New York, but the Knicks have to build something halfway decent to have any hope of recruiting them. I don't know what exactly they're building right now.
Knicks believer: I mean, what exactly are the Thunder building? The Knicks are operating like a normal rebuilding team, which means we should praise them for signing players on tradable contracts. Their best move of the 2019 offseason was signing Marcus Morris for this exact reason. I know it's fun to make fun of this team, but try to take a step back for a second and give Rose and Thibodeau some time. The rotation will sort itself out. The young guys will grow, the team will get better and, eventually, players worth signing to long-term deals will want to be a part of this. Trust the process.
Eye on: Kevin Knox
This is Knox's third season and Thibodeau is his third coach. He is 21 now, and it's time to see him turn his potential into some tangible production. Until now, he has been wildly inefficient on offense -- a poor finisher, a poor shooter and a poor playmaker -- and mostly ineffectual on defense. To the degree that there has been a debate about the former No. 9 pick, it has centered on how much the Knicks should be blamed for his lack of progress.
But the conversation could change. Knox has put on some weight, and he shot 6 for 7 from deep in New York's preseason finale. Expectations aren't going to return to where they were after his first summer league anytime soon, but simply making a decent percentage of his open looks, developing as a defender and throwing down some dunks in transition would be a good start.
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December 22, 2020 at 01:38AM
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Back again: The 2020-21 New York Knicks season preview, starring Tom Thibodeau, Obi Toppin and a do-over - CBS Sports
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