Julius Randle (left) turned in another All-NBA campaign and Jalen Brunson helped lift the Knicks to 5th in the East.
Key addition
- G Donte DiVincenzo (free agency)
Main deductions
- Mr. Derrick Rose, F Obi Toppin
Last season
The Knicks have elevated themselves from the middle to the upper echelon of the East and this is cause for celebration for a franchise that has been running in the mud for over a decade. The No. 5 seed and 47 wins was enough and then the Knicks did one better by knocking off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
Much of this is due to Jalen Brunson, who arrived in free agency from the Dallas Mavericks and led the comeback. Brunson is everything the Knicks lack: A leader, playmaker and late-game savior. The club felt safe with the ball in his hands and more often than not, he proved that confidence, averaging 24 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Even better, he helped relieve Julius Randle, who flopped in 2021-22 and fell out of favor with fans mainly because he handled the ball (and got it wrong). With Brunson on the ball, Randle returned to his strengths: finishing plays (instead of starting them) and sticking close to the basket (instead of launching bad deep jumpers). Randle proved to be brutal again (25.1 ppg, 10 rpg) as he was one of the best power forwards in the league, making the All-Star team and the All-NBA Third Team.
Check out these highlights from Julius Randle’s 2022-23 All-NBA season.
As a bonus, the Knicks made a mid-season deal for Brunson’s college teammate Josh Hart and he was quick and smooth, and he signed a reported four-year, $81 million extension over the summer. The Knicks played better defense for coach Tom Thibodeau and finally, Knicks fans had reason to celebrate.
Summer summary
The Knicks feel good about the status quo, and also the potential for this team to get even higher, so it’s been a quiet summer on the move front.
Well, they admittedly were wrong: Toppin never became the centerpiece-type player New York hoped for when he was drafted in the lottery (No. 8 overall) a few years ago. Toppin’s progress since his poor rookie season has proven marginal, with a 2022 win at the AT&T Slam Dunk marking the tipping point.
.@nyknicks fans, we have your Sunday covered ?? pic.twitter.com/5V1eMLvGey
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 17, 2023
He is more athletic than basketball player, a man with a lot of hops and height, but not so much pure basketball skills as dribbling and shooting, along with court recognition. He’s slipping lower and lower in Thibodeau’s rotation, and when that happens, an exit is inevitable.
So Toppin was traded to the Indiana Pacers for a pair of second round picks, indicating what the market is for him. It wasn’t a trade as it was an act of mercy for the Knicks, who gave him away.
The same goes for Rose, though the decision not to bring him back was made with little emotion by Thibodeau because the two have a long history together. However, Rose is taking space on the bench at the expense of younger players and is not part of the future. He eventually signed a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.
His replacement will be DiVincenzo, who had good stints as a backup in Milwaukee and Golden State. Even better, he reunited with his former Villanova teammates (and fellow guards) in Brunson and Hart.
Otherwise, summer is all about repping your country: Brunson plays for Team USA, and Barrett for Canada. The Knicks should feel good about having two starters on prominent FIBA ​​World Cup teams because it reflects well on the organization – and where this team could be headed in 2023-24.
Next: Brooklyn Nets | In the past: Orlando Magic
> 30 teams in 30 days: Complete schedule
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Shaun Powell has been covering the NBA for over 25 years. You can e-mail him HERELOOK his archive here and follow him Twitter.
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