The New York Knicks have been remarkably quiet during their first offseason since ending a 53-year championship drought. Their priority has seemingly been keeping the band together, which makes sense when one considers what the team accomplished.
As the Oklahoma City Thunder became the latest team to prove in 2025-26, however, teams that fail to make sufficient improvements to their roster will struggle to repeat as champions.
Oklahoma City experienced its share of injury woes, with All-NBA wing Jalen Williams missing 49 regular season games and 10 postseason outings. That only further epitomizes the risk involved in not improving a roster, however, as injuries are an unfortunate part of any season. Adding to a roster can create improved depth and ultimately help teams overcome injuries.
The Thunder's elite player development system seemed to make them immune to such concerns, but even a trade for Jared McCain proved to be too little, too late as the San Antonio Spurs caught up and surpassed them—if only for one series, but that's all it takes.
The Knicks, meanwhile, aren't exactly revered for the depth of their rotation. They have an elite starting five and a strong rotation of veterans who can step up in spurts, but with the teams around them improving, New York will need to make adjustments at some point in time. That would seemingly point to the trade deadline.
The question is: Will James Dolan be willing to pay the bill for the necessary improvements to ensure the Knicks aren't the same in 2027 as they are in 2026?
Even champions need to improve their rotation to win the next title
Dolan made waves when he plainly stated that he won't let New York go into the second apron. Many attempted to make sense of the decision, but it ultimately resulted in backup center Mitchell Robinson joining the Boston Celtics on a three-year, $47,388,600 contract.
The front office reportedly opposed Dolan's stance, but the result has been the Knicks losing Robinson, replacing him with a minimum contract player in Andre Drummond, and remaining otherwise quiet in free agency.
As such, New York still has the same issues as it had a season ago and is now down a key contributor. As the team everyone else is now aiming to dethrone, the Knicks are effectively tasking head coach Mike Brown with creating a better mousetrap with the same resources he had a season ago.
New York is also placing significant pressure on former second-round draft picks such as Mohamed Diawara, Jack Kayil, Tyler Kolek, and Tyler Nickel to make a significant impact on the rotation.
Perhaps the infusion of youth will cure some of New York's issues. The closer they get to the 2027 NBA trade deadline, however, the more pressure there will be to make a transformative addition to the rotation to help cultivate a stronger rotation.
There's still time to fix this potential issue and learn how much change is truly needed, but with other teams on the rise, the Knicks must be prepared to follow suit if the need arises.
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