How the New York Knicks can be title contenders in three years

New York Knicks: Trade for a stretch big

Opposite of the point guard talent in this year’s draft, there’s not a lot of stretch bigs, with the exception of some back-end second-round guys.

This should be one of the keys this offseason for New York. Right now, besides Julius Randle, who’s in a league by himself at this point, the bigs for the Knicks are all inside bruisers. Adding a Lauri Markkanen type player would again give the Knicks more flexibility with their lineup, and of course a talented player.

Markkanen is actually a restricted free agent, and with his minutes going down quite a bit, he might be available to sign. But the point is that New York approaches the offseason, acquiring a stretch big would put them miles above and help in creating a serious title-contending roster. It’s a part of their roster they don’t currently have and could help them experiment with new lineups.

The way the game is moving, it’s important to have a stretch big as a part of your roster. The Knicks are already checking off a lot of key boxes, but this one is the type that can separate teams and give them another component that’s tough to prepare for in the scouting report.

New York is right on the brink of being serious title contenders. These three moves could make that happen even quicker.