5 questions facing the NBA champion Knicks this offseason
Karl-Anthony Towns, center and holding the trophy, and Jose Alvarado, right, celebrate the Knicks' championship in San Antonio. Credit: Getty Images/Ronald Cortes
The Knicks are deservedly basking in the spotlight and celebrations after winning their first NBA title in 53 years. But just as they had decisions to make after every one of those seasons that ended short of the goal, they still have work to do when the champagne stops flowing and the parade has been cleaned up.
Here are five questions facing the organization.
1. Can they keep the champs together?
It may have taken this group time to find its way together, but in the postseason this team melded into the most dominant postseason team in NBA history — putting together a 16-3 record (15-1 in the last 16) with the greatest point differential (plus-283) in NBA playoff history. All five starters are under contract for next season, along with Deuce McBride. But decisions are to be made. Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet are the only other players signed. Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet are unrestricted free agents and Jose Alvarado has a player option for next season. The Knicks have managed to find ways to navigate the salary cap, avoiding getting stuck in the second apron restrictions. It will take vice president of basketball and strategic planning Brock Aller’s calculator and computer to find a way to keep it all in place with the Knicks currently holding the No. 24 pick in next week’s NBA Draft, which would come with a guaranteed salary slot. If they don’t move the pick and Alvarado opts in, the Knicks would have $13.2 million in cap space to try to retain Robinson and Shamet or sign replacements. If they pass that $222 million second apron line they get hit with restrictions on the ability to make moves.
2. Do the younger players earn more trust?
The Knicks showed a remarkable maturity throughout the postseason, whether it was in close-out game blowouts or in the ability to survive fourth-quarter pressure. But part of that was because the young players on the roster rarely got off the bench and now the Knicks enter the draft with three picks — No. 24 in the first round, then No. 31 and 55 in the second round. Mo Diawara and Ariel Hukporti are restricted free agents and likely won’t cost much to bring back. The Knicks have hit on late first-round and second-round picks since Walt Perrin took charge of their college scouting department and some of those are here and others have been part of deals to acquire talent.
3. Is Mitchell Robinson back?
This deserves a separate segment because Robinson is that important to the team. A backup center, he was allowed to understandably get to unrestricted free agency because committing to his injury history was a huge risk. But the Knicks also have, under Leon Rose’s front office, moved players that they didn’t want pay in the form of new deals or contract extensions (see: Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes and even Julius Randle). Robinson has his flaws, offensive limitations and free-throw shooting struggles, but he is an elite offensive rebounder and a solid rim presence who has won games for the Knicks while being the longest-tenured player on the roster. Does someone in the NBA offer up a big deal for those traits? If so, that could be the end of his time in New York.
4. Do the Knicks give Karl-Anthony Towns a massive extension?
The Knicks don’t have to make a move right now, but Towns was a huge part of the title run and answered questions and criticism with a huge effort defensively throughout the playoffs, his passing opening up possibilities for the team on offense, and we haven’t even gotten to his remarkable scoring prowess. It would seem to be that the cost of being a champ is holding onto a player like Towns with a four-year, $272 million extension. The talk of moving him for another star like Giannis Antetokounmpo has stopped as he has fit in next to Jalen Brunson, the most important characteristic for a second star in New York.
5. Can they repeat?
This is the biggest question. The Knicks saw an opening this season — healthy and with a path to the title and they took it. The league could be tougher next season after the dust on the free agent, draft and trade talk ends with the Spurs a year more experienced and teams like the Thunder and the Celtics healthier. The Pistons will be determined after postseason failure and have the room to make moves for help for Cade Cunningham after a first-place finish in the regular season. The Knicks had health this season and if they keep it that way there is no reason they are not right back in the mix next season.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
