Heading into the trade deadline this season, team president Leon Rose left Knicks fans wondering what he will do with the abundance of cap room and draft capital that they have. Unfortunately, while many fans wanted a significant move at the deadline, Rose decided to stay put with the current team and reassess in the offseason.
The Knicks have a decent amount of holes to fill, as a young and inexperienced team is expected to have, but the team has exceeded expectations with what they currently have. They have shown that they can very well be one productive offseason away from contending which is a word that Knicks fans have not heard in recent memory.
This season, the Knicks have two rising stars in RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, but also have one of the best defenses in the entire NBA along with a great coach that the Knicks haven’t had since Jeff Van Gundy in the late ’90s to early 2000s.
With that being said, the question still looms to the Knick faithful, will the team trade some of the draft capital to get a player that has proven themselves at the NBA level or will they stay put and add to the young core that they have through the draft?
With this season’s end nearing, the Knicks must look to add a point guard who can shoot, facilitate and play defense under head coach Tom Thibodeau’s system. In addition to that, they should be looking to add shooters to a hard-nosed defensive team that ranks toward the bottom of the league in three-pointers attempted as well as made.
Next, I will be talking about three questions that, if addressed in the offseason, can help this young and talented team take the next step from playoff contenders to having championship aspirations.