The New York Knicks are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and are less than a year removed from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. With this in mind, most would believe that the Knicks are trending in a positive direction and establishing staying power near the top of the standings.
A rival executive has provided a painful reminder, however, of how the Knicks are a disappointing postseason away from making drastic changes—even if they weren't named directly.
New York is 38-22, on pace for its third consecutive 50-win season, and just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, it also has a massive payroll, questionable fits at key positions, and a second unit that's left something to be desired. Thus, reading between the lines on a recent anonymous comment.
According to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, an anonymous executive believes two or three teams will face the need for drastic changes if they fail to make the Conference Finals.
"There's two to three teams that are going to have some real fallout if they don't make the conference finals," a team president said. "That's the case every year, I know, but there's not a lot of honeymoons going on in the East."
Though the Knicks aren't explicitly named, it's difficult to ignore how clearly they're being silently mentioned in the rival team president's comments.
Rival exec sees fallout for 2-3 teams if they fail to make Conference Finals
The most likely change that the Knicks would make in the event of failing to reach the Conference Finals would be trading Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns, who secured his sixth All-Star nod in 2025-26, is one of the most talented big men in NBA history.
Unfortunately, there are growing concerns over his defensive consistency and general fit alongside New York superstar Jalen Brunson.
A season after averaging 24.4 points per game on .526/.420/.829 shooting, Towns is down to 19.9 points on .477/.370/.857 shooting. Those certainly aren't poor numbers, but the decline is a statistical epitomization of the concerns many have over how he suits Brunson and head coach Mike Brown.
The fact that Towns will make $57,078,728 during the 2026-27 season before having a player option the following summer has only heightened the concerns.
Knicks have second apron concerns, a Karl-Anthony Towns problem, and lackluster depth
There's still a case for keeping the team together in the event of an early postseason exit, but the Knicks are projected to be just $17,620,372 clear of the second apron at the start of the 2026 offseason. Renouncing Mitchell Robinson's $24,613,637 million cap hit would help, as would Jose Alvarado declining his $4.5 million player option.
The problem the Knicks will encounter in any scenario, however, is that the stars don't seem to mesh and depth is a separate but unavoidable issue.
There's already a case for New York re-signing Mohamed Diawara and Ariel Hukporti, who will be restricted free agents. It must also decide if it should bring Robinson back. The question is: How many players can the Knicks justify keeping with a massive payroll, the second apron looming large, and a potential early exit hanging over their heads?
Considering the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after he ended a 25-year Conference Finals drought, even a return to the stage may not be enough to alter the need for drastic changes.