After one wild ride of a season, the New York Knicks have their work cut out for them if they want to make the playoffs in 2019.
The 2017-18 season for the New York Knicks was filled with highs and lows. After the team began the season at a respectable 17-14, they began a downward spiral as Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL in an early February game against the Milwaukee Bucks, signaling another lost season for the franchise and clouding the future of a superstar in the making.
The acquisitions of point guards Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke were head-scratchers, to say the least, as many Knick fans wanted to see an increase in minutes for rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina, allowing him to make the common mistakes that plague most rookies in order to grow as a player.
To put the icing on the cake, mere hours after the Knicks’ final game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, reports surfaced that the front office had fired Jeff Hornacek, ending a so-so two years in New York for the head coach.
General manager Scott Perry and president Steve Mills have done a great job of pushing the Knicks into the rebuild they’ve rejected for so long, but even so, there are still so many questions surrounding this team.
After letting go of Hornacek, choosing the right head coach will be key for the future of this franchise, as whoever is selected will no doubt be looked upon to lead this new era of Knicks basketball.
Frank Ntilikina is supposed to be the point guard of the future in New York, but bringing in two guys who play the same position doesn’t exactly show a level of confidence from the Knicks front office.
All the reports indicate that Porzingis will make a full recovery from his ACL tear, with his doctor even suggesting that the 7’3″ phenom will make it back for the start of next season, but there really isn’t any way to know for sure until he proves it on the court.
Enes Kanter appears to be leaning towards opting out of his contract, and while his averages of 14.1 points and 11.0 rebounds were a welcome sight, do the Knicks really want to pay top dollar for him, thereby keeping themselves out of the free-agent market for the foreseeable future?
These problems don’t even mention the decision that the front office is going to have to make during the upcoming draft, where the Knicks should look to fill the gap at small forward.
Perry and Mills have established a solid foundation as step one of their rebuild, but now it’s time to finish it and start building upwards. These problems aren’t unsolvable, but they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Each one can greatly impact the future direction of the New York Knicks in the best or worst of ways.
Must Read: Top 10 candidates to be the Knicks' next head coach
The season has been over since Wednesday. Preparation for 2019 begins now.