New York Knicks: A 2021 playoffs retrospective

New York Knicks: What Went Right?

Reps for the young guys

It doesn’t matter how anyone played. It doesn’t matter if the series went seven games or was a sweep, the experience a young player gets from post-season reps are quite literally irreplaceable.

At age 20, 21, and 23, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin are the future of this franchise. Now they can say that they’ve competed at the very highest level of basketball. They know what playoff intensity feels like because they’ve been there. They know.

That kind of experience will become important down the road. This won’t be the last time RJ and IQ step into the saloon for New York, and they’re only going to have more responsibility on their plates when they do.  When that day comes, they’ll be able to adapt more comfortably than the next guy because they’ve been on that stage before.

If you want to see what years missing the playoffs can do to an NBA player, look no further than the 2020-21 MIP.

The Knicks’ bench

The Knicks will be looking at playoff runs for the next few years. No more tanking, no more praying for lottery balls or superstar free-agents to come knocking. We make our destiny now, and we’re going to have to have some spunky role guys for the ride.

These playoffs showed us that the rotation guys on the Knicks still have a lot to offer for the near and maybe far future. Bullock, Burks, Noel, Gibson, and Rose. Those five have each had doubts lobbed at them throughout the NBA careers, but here we’ve seen that they at least have something to offer a playoff team.

Derrick Rose still knows how to get 20 points in playoff games, Bullock is one of the purest 3-and-D guys in the league today (always valuable to a contending team), Burks is the spark plug scorer, and Nerlens Noel is the shot-blocker/rim-protector.

And then there’s Taj Gibson. I just love Taj Gibson. He’s the best. He just never makes mistakes out there. That’s all. I just love him.

Those role players might not match the timeline of the younger Knicks, but having pieces like that around a team never hurts. It’s that kind of depth that keeps a team in the + column during the regular season and establishing a winning culture.

Knicks: Randle might take a pay-cut

Going forward with this team, you have to think long-term about the hopes for deeper playoff success and eventual title contention.  It’s what everybody’s aiming for, so there’s no shame in shooting for the stars here.

Randle has proven himself an All-NBA caliber talent, but with one more year left on a two-year $39,000,000 deal, Randle will be expecting a much higher salary in the summer of 2022.

That’s why having humbling him in this disappointing playoff series might be helpful to the Knick’s long-term cap situation. Randle is great, truly he is, but he’s probably not good enough to be the best guy on a contending team  Does our front office really want to pay a guy 30+ mill if he’s not going to be the #1 dude? I’d rather spend that money somewhere else.

Going into the playoffs Randle had that kind of leverage. Coming off an all-star debut, a MIP trophy, an All-NBA selection (likely), and leading his team to the playoffs, and Randle could very well be asked for a max extension and gotten it. Now though? With a rough playoff series under his belt and a more realistic picture of what a Randle-lead team can do in the post-season? $36 a year might start to look more like $26.

Now, the front office won’t have to worry about his free agency for another year.  There’s plenty of time between now and then for things to change around the team or the league, or for Randle’s own stock to rise or fall. Who knows.

All I’m saying is it’s better to keep a realistic view of a guy who’s asking for a contract that big. Give a hard look at Randle and ask if he’s the guy who deserves the keys to the castle.