Reevaluating the highs and lows from Knicks’ 2021 offseason

Here we go again. The New York Knicks are on the outside looking in after falling short of the playoffs, finishing 37-45 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

After overachieving last season, New York decided to run it back, re-signing Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Taj Gibson. The Knicks signed Julius Randle to an extension while adding Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker to their backcourt.

Grading the New York Knicks’ 2021 offseason a year later

In the draft, New York selected Quentin Grimes, Deuce McBride, Jericho Sims, and the Lithuanian draft-and-stash Rokas Joukabatis. The offseason looked like a success.

The Knicks added shooting and ball-handling in an effort to take some of the burden off of their All-NBA forward and their decisions made sense at the time. Now that we’re a year out, how does each move grade knowing what we do now? Let’s start with their biggest stinker:

Kemba Walker: A two-year, $18 million deal

Grade: F

It seems harsh to grade a two-year deal at only $9 million per season an F, but make no mistake, the addition of Walker was maybe the front office’s biggest and most preventable error of the offseason.

Walker played like a shell of himself. Despite shooting 37% from three, he shot only 40% from the field while averaging 11 PPG. On defense, he was relatively non-existent. With Walker on the court, the Knicks had a 114.5 defensive rating which would have been the 27th-best defense in the league.

Off the court, it was 108, good for the fourth-best defense in the league. You never thought that you’d miss Elfrid Payton so much.

Tom Thibodeau and Walker’s relationship was awkward, too, so much so that it apparently alienated some in the locker room. Instead of pulling Walker from the starting lineup and continuing to play him in small doses, Thibodeau yanked him from the rotation entirely.

It was an understandable choice, but one that was overshadowed by Thibodeau insisting he “viewed Kemba as a starter” and Walker claiming that he and the coach didn’t discuss the move in private.

Walker returned to the starting lineup after the team was decimated with injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, delivering his 44-point explosion against the Wizards and his Christmas Day triple-double.

But both of these performances came after long periods of rest, and soon after returning to a regular schedule of playing time, he broke down again.

New York’s best move with Walker was agreeing to part ways after the All-Star break, clearing a spot in a crowded rotation and allowing him to rest for next year. He’ll be moveable in the summer as an expiring contract, so a buyout wasn’t necessary.

Walker is an impressive talent and a great person. Unfortunately with the Knicks, they got the worst of both worlds. The front office somehow punted on both finding a long-term veteran point guard and getting more reps for Immanuel Quickley and McBride.

That mistake set the tone for the disappointing season, so let’s hope that New York’s front office has learned its lesson.