Most of the focus around The New York Knicks has been centered around the team’s younger stars. The players who seem to have cemented themselves as part of the “Young core” and vital pieces of the team’s future success: Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Mitchell Robinson. The development of these core young players has the team playing at their highest level in a long time, but it’s not just the stars who have been a part of The Knicks’ transformation.
With every successful team comes important role players, and The Knicks have had a few this season. While RJ Barrett and Randle have been the dynamic duo to do most of the heavy lifting, we’ve seen this team rely on some of their complementary players as well.
Derrick Rose, Reggie Bullock, and Alec Burks have all received significant playing time throughout the season, and all have been major contributors to The Knicks’ success. All 3 players will also be unrestricted free agents in the offseason.
No way The Knicks keep Bullock, Rose, and Burks
Much of The Knicks’ offseason talk will be around extending Julius Randle, signing or trading for other big names, or even trading up in the draft. They also need to figure out what to do with the 3 key role players who will be on the market.
Rose, Bullock, and Burks all have had different pathways to The Knicks and all of them play different roles. It’s hard to imagine a world where all 3 of them are re-signed. Let’s take a look at each player and whether or not a Knicks reunion is likely next season.