New York Knicks: Five New Year’s resolutions for 2019

3. Stay patient with the kids

The New York Knicks have rarely stayed patient over the past two decades, even with just a handful of winning seasons under their belt. Most of those losing campaigns had “win-now” trades precede them, including deals for Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Andrea Bargnani and Stephon Marbury.

In those deals, the Knicks sent away draft picks who became Gordon Hayward and Jakob Poeltl, among others.

Now, the Knicks have kept their past two first-round picks and three of their last four, resulting in Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox.

Along with them, Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson make up this young core, and while the Knicks have allowed them to develop, this must continue into the new year and the first part of 2019-20.

There is little need to rush any of them, as each player has the opportunity to factor into this team’s future. Porzingis will, whenever he returns from a torn ACL.

The 2017 draft picks, Dotson and Ntilikina who were selections of Phil Jackson, have received inconsistent playing-time spurts, however. The Frenchman’s use, given his offensive struggles, has come into question, as well.

If the same level of patience is shown with Dotson and Ntilikina as Knox, Robinson and Trier, it can allow them to work through any on-court issues, rather than giving up on them, because they were part of the old regime.

Plus, this team is not in position to win now. Maybe not in 2019-20. No one can expect the world from these players, and, if given proper patience to develop, the Knicks can have a terrific core that lasts into the 2020s.