No one would have blamed the New York Knicks for taking it easy this summer.
After making a massive swing last season to add OG Anunoby, the Knicks looked like a truly dangerous team for a precious few weeks before injuries started taking down their core players. They played injury roulette the rest of the year and throughout the playoffs until they finally collapsed under the weight of too many absences.
Running that team back healthy would have been an extremely reasonable move this summer, but instead, they swung for the fences, trading a massive package of draft picks for Brooklyn Nets wing Mikal Bridges, completing the Villanova quartet. They also moved up and down the draft board, filling out a pipeline of players to develop into their next set of role players.
How did the Knicks do this offseason?
The Knicks have transformed themselves from a laughingstock franchise to one of the best-run teams in the league, making incredibly competent decisions over the past couple of years. That included adding players like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo at below-market value and seeing them blossom in New York.
Did their moves this summer follow that same trend? And how can they blossom in the Big Apple? Let's look at every significant move made by the Knicks this summer, from signings to trades to draft picks, and grade the Knicks move by move and overall. Was it a successful offseason? Did they accomplish their goals? And does it change their standing in the Eastern Conference?
Each pick is graded on a letter scale, where a 'C' move is fine, a 'B' move is really good and an 'A' move is outstanding.
We begin with the Knicks' best player and how intangibles played a part in shaping the future of the franchise.