New York Knicks: How to build a championship roster

Building the Knicks into contenders: Add the right veterans

Since there aren’t any stars in the upcoming free agent class that the Knicks can realistically acquire, their priority should be in landing a few quality role players on good contracts. They can accomplish this using cap space or via trade, but it’s important to add veterans who will not only help develop their young players, but will also improve the outlook for the team. No star player wants to play for a franchise full of unproven players. Getting a couple of stop-gap veterans and nice rotational pieces this offseason would be key.

For me, Mike Conley Jr. makes the most sense. He is in an expiring contract and he is more of a role player at this stage in his career. He would be a nice player for the young point guards to learn from and someone that would put the other players in positions to succeed. Having Conley replace Payton as the vet point guard would be a huge upgrade.

Another player to consider is Bogdan Bogdanovic. If the Knicks could sign him in restricted free agency, he would be a huge upgrade over Wayne Ellington. Bogdanovic is entering his prime, can fill the complementary shooter role and play multiple positions.

The Knicks still need shooters, even if they did sign Bogdanovic, but they already have one on the roster. What was said about Bogdanovic also applies to Damyean Dotson. He is tied with Frank Ntilikina for title of longest-tenured Knick. Chemistry is important and he is a proven commodity. Keeping Dotson means you can move on from Bullock and Ellington, while having Bogdanovic and Dotson as your floor-spacing shooters is an upgrade.