Knicks Trying to Break Precedent in Year One of New Core

When Knicks general manager Leon Rose took three big swings in 2024 to completely transform the roster, the immediate reaction was championship expectations. It was well understood that this new core had years ahead of them, but Knicks fans in particular, have been so starved for title contention. The fact that teams in their first year of a group of players rarely reach the ultimate goal was lost in the shuffle. That’s not to say that the NBA Finals aren’t the standard; for a team this talented, it is. However, it usually requires time to gel and make additional moves on the margins of a roster. It’s been a successful season, but NY’s struggles against the top teams reflect this concept.

Knicks Trying to Break Precedent in Year One of New Core

Let’s take a look through recent NBA history. The 2024 Celtics, 2023 Nuggets, 2022 Warriors, and 2021 Bucks all had the same cores for years. The Celtics, Nuggets, and Bucks had multiple deep playoff runs ending in failure before scaling the mountain, while the Warriors group won three titles in years past. The 2020 Lakers did have a completely new roster but had just traded for a 26-year-old top-five player, Anthony Davis. They also still had a peak-level LeBron James.

The 2019 Raptors won in Kawhi Leonard‘s first and only year with the team, but the rest of their roster was mostly the same from repeated playoff failures. Similarly, the 2017 and 2018 Warriors had continuity in their core and added a top-three player, Kevin Durant on top of it. The 2016 Cavaliers and 2015 Warriors won with the same group as before. Before that, the Spurs, Heat, Mavericks, and Lakers all had brutal postseason exits with similar cores before winning a title.

In short, to win a championship, a franchise either has to experience repeated playoff runs and build up their roster over time, or bring in a consensus top-five superstar in his prime. Unfortunately, this Knicks team checks neither box. There are very few examples of squads hoisting the trophy one year after being thrown together. Only four rotation players from December 2023 remain: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Miles McBride, and Mitchell Robinson. Although the team is undoubtedly better, that level of turnover isn’t conducive to immediate success.

It’s Still Possible, But the Roster Might Need Time

In 2024, Rose traded away five key players to bring in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns. These moves both left the roster top-heavy and interrupted the chemistry that was building. They were the right decisions, as New York’s previous roster wasn’t talented enough to compete for a championship. Still, it may take years of playing together and going through failure to break through. Boston won in year seven of Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown. Denver did it in year seven of Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray. Milwaukee in year eight of Giannis Antetokounmpo/Khris Middleton. You get the picture.

These teams also needed the seasons of heartbreak to learn which parts of the roster needed tweaks. The Celtics took years to move off Marcus Smart and added Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Denver brought in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon. Clearly, New York’s rotation needs some work on the defensive end. Whether that’s through strategic changes, smaller moves, or one more all-in trade, their defense isn’t currently good enough. Trading for Antetokounmpo to increase their ceiling and solve the defense is the ideal move, but it may require something similar to put this team over the top.

Now, this is not to say that the Knicks cannot win it all this year. Teams get hot in the playoffs. Injuries happen. They’re perhaps the best clutch team in the league, which could help them steal games and possibly a series. New York could even prove to be a completely different team when fully healthy in the postseason. They’ve been one of the league’s best squads all year, winning two-thirds of their games. It’s just to say that it’s understandable if they don’t. In fact, losing in the East playoffs would be a normal part of the process.