The Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in an exhilarating six-game series, fired their head coach, and now all eyes are on the President of Basketball Operations, Leon Rose, for a big 2025 offseason.
The summer starts by deciding if the core of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns are fit for the long term. New York is in a good financial place as long as owner James Dolan is willing to pay high taxes to keep the core together.
Could the Knicks explore trading a member of their core, and would doing so fix their issues with the starting five? Last summer, it seemed like the Knicks wanted this group to grow together, so how much did another playoff elimination to Indiana change that feeling? Will the firing of Tom Thibodeau be the biggest move of the summer for them?
Implications of the Thibodeau firing
The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau three days after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Two wins away from the NBA Finals, and now the Knicks need to find a new head coach. Firing Thibodeau will impact the Knicks’ offseason in the moves they make. There was a lot of speculation about the pairing of Thibs and Karl-Anthony Towns, but it seems the Knicks have chosen the player over the coach. The Knicks may now become a more desirable destination for role players since another coach will have more rotation flexibility than Thibs.
ESPN Insider Shams Charania believes the Knicks will “be very active and aggressive” to address the roster, whether they land another star or find bench depth.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns
The two major acquisitions of the 2024 offseason are eligible for extensions this summer. Both are also being thrown around in trade speculations across the league.
Mikal Bridges has one year remaining on his contract and is eligible to sign a four-year extension worth $150 million. When the Knicks traded for Bridges it was reported by NBA insider Marc Stein that he was open to taking a pay cut to stay with the Knicks.
Signing Mikal Bridges would confirm two things for the Knicks moving forward. It would mean New York plans to build around this core, and that they would have no interest in trading Bridges because the extension comes with a six-month trade restriction.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ contract situation is not as urgent as Bridges’ because he has three years remaining on his current deal. According to Spotrac, the big man is due to make $171.2 million over the next three years, with a $61 million player option in 2027-28. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Towns’ potential extension is $150 million over two years.
The Knicks, logically, will not extend Towns this summer. They will likely wait for his contract out and extend later or even consider trading him.
Cap Situation and Future of the Roster
The Knicks are unlikely to cross into the second apron (a threshold with many penalties that restrict roster building) thanks to Jalen Brunson taking a pay cut ($156.5 million over the next four years). His pay cut will help the Knicks gain access to the taxpayer mid-level exception (signing exception teams receive in the offseason) worth $5.6 million (in year one). Outside of the taxpayer-MLE, the rest of the signings will have to come from minimum contracts.
Last season, the Knicks traded for Towns in October, leaving them with very limited options to properly fill out the rest of their roster. This time around they will have an entire offseason to sign players who fill out their depth. The Knicks need a backup point guard, and forward help, and every team can always use more shooting.
As for a big trade, pulling one off isn’t impossible, but is extremely difficult; Leon Rose would have to get creative. Mitchell Robinson’s contract seems the most tradable, but the Knicks value his defense at center, despite injury concerns. Does Rose consider trading Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges, who both have contracts in the $25 million range? Bridges seem more unlikely because the Knicks spent five first-rounders on him, and they will not sell him for cheap.
Even after a season where the Knicks exceeded expectations, there is uncertainty around the roster and coaching staff. The next three months are crucial in deciding how the Knicks move forward as an organization.
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