After the New York Knicks got eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals, their front office knew it was time to make some changes. They began by firing their head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Now their attention has turned to chasing superstars such as Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, a pair of former Knicks have urged the team to be careful about their next decisions.
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New York proved this season that they are a legitimate contender. Perhaps their elimination by the Indiana Pacers was a good thing, too. The organization now has a better understanding of what they need to do to get over the hump.
The majority of those changes can happen in-house. The Knicks relieved Thibodeau due to his heliocentric offense specialized with Jalen Brunson at the forefront. Although it led New York to the ECF, eventually, it became predictable. The lack of variety limited the talents of those on the roster, such as Karl-Anthony Towns.
Former Knicks Iman Shumpert and Carmelo Anthony believe this one-dimensional nature of offense, and predictability to be a glaring weakness within the Knicks. Towns is too good of a player for them not to involve him significantly more.
“Y’all got to throw that in there,” Shumpert said on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast. Anthony agreed, but also said that Towns needs to take onus when he does have the ball.
“This is what kills me, he has to establish switches,” Anthony said. “If [a player] switches on him and he doesn’t punish the little guy.”
Anthony and Shumpert believe that if the offseason is used to address these issues, it can result in a significantly improved team. The only concern is that the management will not give this group another opportunity.
“I want to build with KAT and JB,” Anthony said. Shumpert is against the Knicks going star hunting. “New York, don’t do that. Don’t start trading all that s**t. That is good s**t that is over there,” Shumpert added.
With each passing day, Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks seems more certain. On the other hand, reports expect the Phoenix Suns to trade Durant before the NBA Draft. New York is one of the teams that has their hand in the KD sweepstakes.
Anthony and Shumpert believe Durant is still an amazing player. But for what it would cost and how close the Knicks are with their current roster, it isn’t worth it.
Instead, they are on board if New York were to roughen up the edges. The addition of another ballhandler is something they are in favor of, with Lonzo Ball coming to mind.
Time will tell if New York decides to stand pat or go all-in. Regardless, this is the best situation the Knicks have been in over 20 years. This offseason could either push them to unprecedented heights or break down something special before it has a chance to develop.
