Full offseason report card and grade
The New York Knicks swung for the fences and completed the Villanova quartet. How does the big picture look?
Extended Jalen Brunson
Grade: A+
Drafted Tyler Kolek
Grade: A
Traded for Mikal Bridges
Grade: B+
Re-signed Precious Achiuwa
Grade: B+
Re-signed OG Anunoby
Grade: B
Drafted Pacome Dadiet
Grade: C+
Drafted Kevin McCullar
Grade: C
Drafted Ariel Hukporti
Grade: C
Signed Cam Payne
Grade: C-
Overall Grade
The New York Knicks have been biding their team for years, making smaller moves to shore up the team's depth and otherwise nailing free agency, signing Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Donte DiVincenzo to bargain deals.
Rather than wait for a top-tier star to come available, they decided to make their move now, trading for Mikal Bridges. It was an expensive bet that the fit of Bridges - both relationally and as a two-way wing - will make him just as valuable to this team as a superstar.
That's an exciting bet for them to make from a team-building perspective, but it puts a skyscraper's worth of pressure on Jalen Brunson's shoulder. It's already historically difficult for a small guard to lead a championship team, and now Brunson has to try and do it without another on-ball star beside him.
In part, this offseason feels incomplete for the Knicks. They lost Isaiah Hartenstein because they only had Early Bird Rights available to re-sign him, and they haven't landed on an obvious replacement at center. Will they pull off another trade? Is Julius Randle on the move?
More questions spring to life looking ahead to this season. Who is going to start? The most likely answer would be a jumbo-sized lineup with Mikal at the 2, Anunoby at the 3 and Julius Randle at the 4 between a traditional center and Brunson. Does that group have enough shooting? Is Randle or Bridges the No. 2 option? Will Tom Thibodeau get out of his comfort zone and play either Randle or Anunoby at the 5?
The Knicks have an incredibly deep roster, and they have the kinds of players you want to go to war with. It remains to be seen whether that gives them the top-end firepower required to knock off the Boston Celtics or the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, but it's reasonable to think that is in reach.
The Knicks have given themselves a chance, and in doing so they may have put together a group of players who fit together so well it elevates this team to new heights.
Grade: B+