Last season, the Knicks made it to the second round for the first time since 2013. While they lost in six games to the Heat, the Knicks showed more promise than they have in 10 years. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Leon Rose shake things up to take advantage of New York’s potential championship window.
With the way some teams in the East could be falling apart in coming seasons, the Knicks shouldn’t be hesitant to make moves to become true contenders. This opportunity has only been presented a handful of times for New York in the last 20 years, so being aggressive may be the right move.
If the Knicks truly wish to push toward contention, they must consider making these three moves. The current state of the roster won’t cut it, barring a miracle.
3 moves the Knicks still need to make to become contenders
3. Improve the team’s three-point shooting
It truly is jarring to look at how poorly the Knicks shot from three in the regular season and playoffs compared to the true contenders in the league. If New York wishes to be one of those top teams pushing for the Larry O’Brien trophy, the team must improve their shooting from deep.
In the 2022-23 season, the Knicks shot 35.4% from three on 35.7 attempts. While this is below league average, it was still good enough to earn the Knicks a top-five seed in a pretty stacked Eastern Conference. However, once it became playoff time, New York completely fell apart from beyond the arc.
Through 11 games, the Knicks shot 29.2% from range on 32.7 attempts per game. This was the worst of any team that made the postseason. Considering that both teams that made the NBA Finals were top three in playoff three-point percentage, it becomes relatively clear that this trend cannot continue.
While it would be nice to see the Knicks acquire another shooter other than Donte DiVincenzo, such as Buddy Hield or Luke Kennard, they don’t necessarily need to do this to improve their efficiency. For example, a great way to improve the team’s three-point percentage would be for certain players to shoot less.
There is no reason for Julius Randle to be taking 8.3 threes per game, especially considering that he shot 34.3% from that range. To put into perspective how silly it is for Randle to be shooting so much, Hield shot 8.5 threes a game and shot 42.5%. Simply shooting fewer threes will not only help Randle be more efficient, but the team itself will benefit.
Even players like RJ Barrett, who took 5.3 attempts per game, should shoot threes less. This amount of attempts on its own isn’t bad, but when you consider that Barrett shot 31%, you begin to see why it’s such a problem. Hopefully, we see changes such as this one to the offense to make the Knicks a premier three-point shooting team.
2. Make the offense less freelance
Tom Thibodeau is an incredible floor-raising coach, as almost any team he has coached went from garbage to the playoffs almost immediately. This was also the case with the Knicks. New York was one of the biggest laughing stocks in the entire NBA for years, and in just his first season, Thibodeau took them to the playoffs.
Despite being such a great floor raiser, Thibodeau also manages to destroy his team’s ceilings due to his lack of adjustments on either side of the ball and freelance style of offense. While the lack of adjustments is a big issue, we will focus on his style of offense for now.
Thibodeau loves his freelance style of offense that runs at a slow pace and features little off-ball movement. While this is cool and may work in the regular season, it’s 2023, and opposing coaching staffs are smarter than ever. Despite working in the regular season, these coaches pick up on it relatively quickly in the playoffs, and it gets shut down.
While New York may run the occasional pick-and-roll or dribble handoff, it would be great to see Thibodeau involve players in the off-ball more. Some of the top teams in both conferences specialize in this skill, and it’s what makes them such great offensive teams. The Knicks already have great off-ball guys like Quentin Grimes and Jalen Brunson, and it would be nice to see them be utilized more in that aspect.
Teams like the Nuggets, Warriors, and Heat specialize in getting their shooters open with off-ball screens and overall movement. If Thibodeau can adopt this offensive mindset, the Knicks could be an unstoppable force in the regular season and playoffs.
1. Add a star-level player to play alongside Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle
One of the biggest issues with the Knicks since the Tom Thibodeau and Julius Randle era is that the team hasn’t had a consistent third option on offense.
While fans were hopeful that RJ Barrett would take this role last season, it didn’t happen, and the Knicks may need to prepare for life without Barrett. He may still have potential, but if New York wants to take its championship window seriously, it can’t afford to waste time on the hope that Barrett will become a star.
Whether it be before the season starts, at the deadline, or entering next season, the Knicks may look into acquiring a third star to play with Randle and Brunson. Whether it be a top-level player like Joel Embiid or a borderline All-Star like Zach LaVine, the Knicks will likely be active and involved in rumors about who they could trade for.
Even if they acquire a good 3-and-D wing like Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby, the team will benefit greatly. However, it’s more likely that we see Leon Rose go for a major star instead of a more consistent role player. Regardless, something needs to change offensively, as the Knicks need more on-and-off ball creators, so adding a player like LaVine may be a perfect move.
Regardless of who they add, fans should be hopeful that Rose won’t waste the window the Knicks have. You never know who could be made available. What we do know, though, is that Rose will be ready with a hefty trade package. The Knicks have copious amounts of assets to acquire whatever top player is made available, but Rose just has to use said assets properly.
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